Consent is a fundamental part of ethical and lawful care. Every person receiving care and support has the right to make informed decisions about their treatment, daily living, and wellbeing. This free consent online course explores the principles, legislation, and best practices that underpin consent in health and social care settings.

Whether you’re a carer, support worker, nurse, or manager, understanding how to obtain and document valid consent is essential to providing person-centred and legally compliant care.

Why Take This eLearning Course?

Gaining consent is not just a formality — it is a legal and moral obligation. In health and social care, respecting autonomy and individual choice ensures dignity and trust between professionals and those they support.

Here’s why this course is for you:

• Understand your legal duties: Learn how UK laws such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Human Rights Act 1998 protect individuals’ rights.
• Promote person-centred care: Discover how to seek consent in a way that values autonomy, equality, and respect.
• Communicate effectively: Gain techniques for supporting informed decision-making, even in complex or sensitive situations.
• Work confidently: Know how to assess capacity, record consent accurately, and respond appropriately if consent is refused.

Consent in Health and Social Care – Course Content Outline

Module 1: Consent Basics
Learners will explore what ‘consent’ means and understand the criteria that make consent valid, including capacity, voluntariness, and informed decision-making. The module explains the central role of consent in health and social care practice, ensuring respect for autonomy, dignity, and legal compliance.

Module 2: Seeking Consent
This module outlines who is responsible for seeking consent—such as healthcare professionals, advocates, or social care workers—and when it is required during treatment, care planning, or personal support. Learners will understand the importance of ensuring consent is gained ethically and appropriately.

Module 3: Methods of Consent
Learners will review the different ways individuals can give or refuse consent, including verbal, written, and non-verbal methods. The module covers effective communication strategies, ensuring information is accessible and clear for all service users, including those with communication difficulties or diverse needs.

Module 4: The Right to Refuse
This module focuses on an individual’s right to refuse consent and the importance of respecting autonomy, even when choices may go against professional advice. Learners will explore how to respond sensitively and lawfully when consent is withheld, maintaining dignity and safety.

Module 5: Mental Capacity and Consent
Learners will examine how the Mental Capacity Act 2005 supports decision-making for individuals who may lack capacity. The module includes the principles of capacity assessment, the role of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS), and how to make best-interest decisions when required.

Module 6: Legal and Ethical Frameworks
This module reviews the legal frameworks that underpin consent, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and the FREDA principles—Fairness, Respect, Equality, Dignity, and Autonomy. Learners will explore how consent policies ensure legal compliance, protect individual rights, and maintain ethical standards in care.

Module 7: Record-Keeping
Learners will understand the importance of accurately documenting the consent process for accountability and transparency. The module outlines best practices for using consent forms, recording verbal or written consent, and maintaining confidentiality while ensuring legal compliance.

Module 8: Promoting Autonomy
This module explores the principles of person-centred care and how they promote autonomy and empowerment. Learners will examine ways to balance rights, risks, and responsibilities, ensuring individuals remain in control of their own decisions wherever possible.

Module 9: Challenges in Consent
Learners will explore complex scenarios involving consent, including refusal of treatment, emergency care, and decision-making for children and young people. The concept of Gillick competence will be introduced to explain how young people can consent to their own care when they demonstrate sufficient understanding.

Module 10: Training and Communication
This module highlights the importance of ongoing staff training and effective communication in maintaining informed consent practices. Learners will understand how training, reflection, and supervision improve confidence, consistency, and ethical decision-making across teams.

Module 11: Legal Interventions
The final module covers legal rights and responsibilities in complex or high-risk consent situations, including those involving minors, adults lacking capacity, or emergency treatment. Learners will review how to act within legal frameworks while prioritising the best interests and rights of individuals.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Define consent and understand the criteria for valid and informed consent.
• Explain the role of consent in ensuring safe, ethical, and person-centred care.
• Identify who can seek consent and when consent must be obtained (e.g., treatment, care planning, or information sharing).
• Describe different methods of consent — verbal, written, and implied — and when each is appropriate.
• Recognise the right to refuse consent and respond appropriately while upholding autonomy.
• Understand mental capacity and apply the two-stage test for assessing it under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Explain best-interest decision-making for individuals who lack capacity.
• Apply the FREDA principles (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Dignity, Autonomy) in your daily practice.
• Maintain accurate and transparent records of consent and decision-making processes.
• Identify challenges in gaining consent, such as Gillick competence, family disputes, or cultural differences.
• Recognise the importance of training, communication, and reflective practice to improve consent procedures.

Target Audience

This course is ideal for:

• Health and social care professionals working directly with individuals (e.g., carers, nurses, support workers)
• Senior care staff and managers responsible for compliance and policy implementation
• Students and trainees preparing for work in care environments

No prior training in law or consent is required — the course is designed for all experience levels.

FAQ

How long does the course take?
On average, learners complete the course in 1–2 hours, depending on experience and study pace.

Is the course suitable for care providers regulated by the CQC?
Yes. The course content supports compliance with CQC’s fundamental standards and guidance on consent and capacity.

Do I receive a certificate?
Yes. Upon completion, you’ll receive a digital certificate as evidence of training.

Is this course CPD accredited?
Our courses are currently being submitted for CPD accreditation. Certificates will soon include CPD hours.

Can this course count towards Care Certificate standards?
Yes. It complements Standard 3 – Duty of Care and Standard 5 – Work in a Person-Centred Way of the Care Certificate.

Respecting consent is at the heart of safe and compassionate care. It empowers individuals to make their own choices and protects both them and professionals from harm.

By completing this course, you’ll gain the confidence and legal understanding to ensure every care decision you make is transparent, ethical, and person-centred.

Enrol in the Consent in Health and Social Care Training Course today and ensure you’re working safely, legally, and with respect for every individual’s autonomy.