Effective · KLOE 5

Consent to care and treatment

Are people supported to understand and exercise their right to consent to care and treatment?

CQC wording, primary care and community services draft V6.0, pages 27 to 29.

Draft, not the current assessment framework

CQC's primary care and community services draft V6.0, published March 2026. The current quality statements remain in use.

CQC draft scope

What this proposed KLOE covers

Scope of this key line of enquiry and topic areas include:

The draft applies one framework across primary care and community services, but useful evidence depends on your service and people.

Source: CQC, Primary care and community services assessment framework, draft V6.0, 19 March 2026, pages 27 to 29. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

CQC draft rating characteristics

These are CQC's draft characteristics. CQC says rating characteristics guide judgements, they are not a mechanical checklist.

People are supported to understand their rights to giving consent to care and treatment, including rights to advocacy. This is through clear, inclusive communication that respects their individual needs, cultures and histories.
Information and advice about consent is accurate, up-to-date and tailored to meet diverse communication needs.
Transparent information is provided on all aspects of care, including contracts and charges, reflecting a values-driven approach to openness and integrity.
Advance care planning, including ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’ (DNACPR), is managed as a proactive and inclusive process. People are empowered to make informed decisions, and these are continuously reviewed.
People’s capacity to consent is assessed in a compassionate and inclusive way, and they (or their legal representatives) understand their rights and are meaningfully involved in decisions about their care.

People are supported to understand their rights to giving consent to care and treatment, including rights to advocacy. They understand they have the right to change their mind and withdraw their consent and staff respect this. Consent is clearly documented in people’s records.
Information and advice about consent is accurate, up-to-date, and meets people’s communication needs. Where relevant, this includes transparent information about contracts and charges.
Where medicine or treatment is not evidence-based or is being used outside of standard guidance, people receive transparent information to help them make informed decisions about consent.
There are systems in place to ensure that decisions around advance care planning, including ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’ (DNACPR), are informed, documented and regularly reviewed.
People’s capacity to consent is assessed, and they (or their legal representatives) understand their rights and are involved in decisions about their care.
All capacity and consent decisions are made in line with legislation. This includes clear definitions, responsibilities, and safeguards for all forms of liberty restriction under statutory authority such as the Mental Health Act.
Decisions about care are made in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, involving carers or advocates when needed.

People are not always supported to understand their rights to consent to care and treatment or their rights to advocacy. Consent is not always clearly documented in people’s records.
Information and advice is not always accurate, up-to-date or does not always meet people’s communication needs. Information about contracts and charges, where appropriate, is not always provided in a clear way that people can understand.
Systems for advance care planning decisions, including ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’ (DNACPR), are in place but are applied inconsistently. Decisions are not always informed, clearly documented or reviewed in a timely way.
People’s capacity to consent is not consistently assessed in the appropriate circumstances. People (or their legal representatives) do not always understand their rights and are not consistently involved in decisions about their care.
Decisions about care are not always made in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Carers or advocates are not involved in decision making consistently.
Capacity and consent decisions are not always made in line with legislation and may not meet the clear definitions, responsibilities, and safeguards for all forms of liberty restriction under statutory authority such as the Mental Health Act.

People are not supported to understand their rights to consent to care and treatment or their rights to advocacy. There is no evidence of informed consent in people’s records.
Information and advice is inaccurate or out-of-date. It is not provided in a way that meets people’s communication needs.
There are no effective systems in place to ensure that decisions around advance care planning, including ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’ (DNACPR), are made in a consistent way. People do not feel empowered to make informed decisions and decisions may not be appropriately documented or reviewed.
People’s capacity to consent is not appropriately assessed. People (or their legal representatives) do not understand their rights, and they are not involved in care decisions.
Capacity and consent decisions are not made in line with legislation and do not meet the clear definitions, responsibilities, and safeguards for all forms of liberty restriction under statutory authority such as the Mental Health Act.

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