How do I weigh up health risks against benefits?
It is important to understand the risks and benefits of all medical tests, treatments and procedures – not just operations. Very few tests and treatments have no risk.
Also, this needs to be done before the tests and treatments happen. This is part of the consent process.
You should ask the doctor to explain the pros and cons in language you understand. A good question is ..
.. doctor .. would you have this test or treatment, if you were me?
A good example is a CT scan. These are great tests but most require a dye that is injected in you, which can cause kidney failure, if your kidneys are not working 100%. So an MRI might be better.
These are some other good questions that you may want to ask the doctor, before you consent to something. They are from NHS England’s website.
And this a good NHS video as well.
