Is Consent Helpful in Medical Treatment?

It sounds as if the whole notion of consent is being driven by a kind of liberal philosophy underlying this, perhaps inspired by somebody like John Stuart Mill. For example, surgery between consenting adults is not lawful. And my speculation would be that this focus has become so intense in the last 30 years because it is the consent that is seen as limiting the liability of the hospital trust or the professional staff for any complaint. I think that consent is useful, but insisting that it be highly specific and got by very complex procedures is probably illusory. If you jack up the standards to excessive heights, then all of us are going to count as non-competent.