Acutely ill adults in hospital: recognising and responding to deterioration

Your care

Your treatment and care should take into account your personal needs and preferences, and you have the right to be fully informed and to make decisions in partnership with your healthcare team. To help with this, your healthcare team should give you information you can understand and that is relevant to your circumstances. All healthcare professionals should treat you with respect, sensitivity and understanding. They should explain simply and clearly how patients in hospital are monitored and how they are cared for if their health becomes worse.

The information you get from your healthcare team should include details of the possible benefits and risks of particular treatments. You can ask any questions you want to and can always change your mind as your treatment progresses or your condition or circumstances change. Your own preference for a particular treatment is important and your healthcare team should support your choice of treatment wherever possible.

Your treatment and care, and the information you are given about it, should take account of any religious, ethnic or cultural needs you may have. It should also take into account any additional factors, such as physical or learning disabilities, sight or hearing problems, or difficulties with reading or speaking English. Your healthcare team should be able to arrange an interpreter or an advocate (someone who supports you in putting across your views) if needed.

If you agree, your carers and relatives should have the chance to be involved in decisions about your care. Carers and relatives also have the right to the information and support they need in their roles as carers.

If people are unable to understand a particular issue or are not able to make decisions for themselves, healthcare professionals should follow the advice that the Department of Health has produced about this. You can find the Department of Health's advice on consent at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-guide-to-consent-for-examination-or-treatment-second-edition and information about the Mental Capacity Act at www.justice.gov.uk/protecting-the-vulnerable/mental-capacity-act.