Question 1

Who should run this audit?

Accepted Answer

Doctors in training, registrars, consultants, QI fellows, clinical nurse specialists, endoscopy and theatre teams, Mental Capacity Act and safeguarding leads, and clinical audit or governance staff are all well placed to run this audit. Include a named project lead, a consultant supervisor and a governance reviewer where possible.

Question 2

What permissions do I need?

Accepted Answer

Most organisations treat this as clinical audit or service evaluation and do not require research ethics approval, but you must register the project with your local clinical audit or governance team before starting. Use pseudonymised episode references only — do not enter names, NHS numbers, hospital numbers, full dates of birth or addresses.

Question 3

How do I sample?

Accepted Answer

Use consecutive consent episodes for adults aged 16 and over over a defined period, or a random sample of procedures and care decisions across the participating areas. A sample of 30–50 episodes per service gives a reasonable point estimate; 100 or more across the organisation supports comparison between services, decision types and clinician roles.

Question 4

What does the tool measure?

Accepted Answer

Whether the record shows the specific decision, the person's involvement, the benefits, material risks and reasonable alternatives discussed, the option of no treatment, capacity considerations and any Mental Capacity Act or best interests process, communication support such as interpretation, completion of a consent form where required, the identity and role of the clinician, the agreed decision and plan, and whether the documentation would be clear to another clinician.

Question 5

Does this audit judge the quality of the consent conversation?

Accepted Answer

No. The audit measures what was documented. A good conversation may be poorly recorded, and a complete record does not guarantee a good discussion. Interpret the results as a measure of documentation quality and continuity of information, and say so in your report.

Question 6

What happens after data collection?

Accepted Answer

The dashboard updates as submissions are added. Use the Findings tab to interpret the results, the Improvement tab to plan actions and PDSA cycles, the Re-audit tab for the next cycle, and the Export centre to generate editable Word, PowerPoint, A0 poster, Excel and ARCP evidence outputs.

Question 7

What should I do if I find a consent concern during data collection?

Accepted Answer

Stop and escalate through your local clinical, governance, safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act or legal advice pathways. Do not use the audit record as the escalation route. Record that escalation took place in the relevant criterion.

Question 8

Do I need to sign in to see the tool?

Accepted Answer

Authentication is handled at the main Lazomis QI website. Inside the tool you are already in your authenticated organisation workspace, or you are viewing clearly labelled sample data.