TY - JOUR T1 - Consent of the blind and visually impaired: a time to change practice JF - British Journal of Ophthalmology JO - Br J Ophthalmol SP - 310 LP - 311 DO - 10.1136/bjo.2003.025239 VL - 88 IS - 2 AU - G M Saleh Y1 - 2004/02/01 UR - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/88/2/310.abstract N2 - It is a general legal and ethical principle that valid consent must be obtained before starting treatment or physical investigation of a patient. The validity of consent does not depend on the form in which it is given (verbal or written), rather it depends on it being given voluntarily by an appropriately informed person who has the capacity to consent to the intervention in question. Written consent merely serves as evidence of consent. There is no English statute setting out the general principles of consent, rather it is set by precedent or case law (“common law”). … ER -