Consent and the law

English medical law has come about in a fairly ad hoc manner and the law governing consent has evolved both from statute and common law. A doctor needs a patient's consent before he/she may lawfully touch them, and for that consent to be valid it needs to be given by an appropriately informed person who has the capacity to consent to the intervention in question. A competent adult may refuse any treatment for any reason. A competent minor, however may consent to treatment but may not always refuse it. In an emergency a doctor may act out of necessity in the best interests of their patient.