When should a chaperone be offered?

The course says a chaperone should be offered for examinations that are intimate or could reasonably be seen as intimate — breast, genital, pelvic or rectal examinations — and for examinations needing significant undressing, vulnerable patients and consultations with a significant power imbalance. Offering one shows respect even if the patient declines, and the offer should be recorded.

The patient declined a chaperone. What should I do?

Respect the choice, make sure it was informed — that the patient knew what a chaperone is and that declining would not affect their care — and record the offer and the answer. If you cannot proceed safely without a chaperone, the course says to defer the examination where clinically possible.

Can a relative act as the chaperone?

The course distinguishes a support person from a formal chaperone. A relative or friend the patient wants present for support is not a formal chaperone, who should be an appropriate, impartial person who understands the role. The record should say which was present.

No chaperone was available. Could I have gone ahead?

The course says the absence of a chaperone does not by itself justify proceeding: assess the urgency, explain the position to the patient, offer to reschedule where clinically appropriate, and record the discussion and the decision. Proceeding in a high-risk situation needs careful justification in the notes.

The patient signed a consent form. Is that enough?

Not on its own. The course says written consent does not replace a proper explanation, and that the record should show the discussion — the information given, the patient’s questions, the decision and any limits — and not only that consent was obtained.

Can this course be used as evidence of remediation?

It can be part of the evidence, but no course decides a complaint. It gives you a dated certificate of 2 CPD hours and a structure for a reflection that names what happened, the standard engaged, its effect and what has changed. Whether a course meets a particular undertaking or condition depends on its wording, so read it with your adviser before you enrol.

Should I take advice before I respond?

Yes — before anything is written to the regulator, a committee or your employer. Whatever your profession, ask your indemnifier, your union or professional body, or a solicitor. Nothing on this page is legal advice.

How long does it take, and how long do I have access?

The course is 2 CPD hours, self-paced, with access for twelve months from purchase. The certificate is issued on completion, dated, with the course title and the CPD hours. Whether the hours count towards your own CPD requirement is for your regulator or scheme to say: doctors must undertake a minimum of 50 hours in each scheme year, and CORU registrants must achieve 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period.

Can I get a certificate with a later date?

No. The certificate records the date you completed the course, and that date does not change. If your regulator, an inquiry committee or an employer asks for recent evidence, you buy the course again: half price within twelve months of your original purchase, the full €100 after that.

Will anyone be told that I am taking the course?

No. Nobody is told you are enrolled. We do not share participant details with any regulator, an employer, a union or an indemnifier; the certificate reaches them only if you attach it to your own response.

Medical Council · NMBI · Dental Council · PSI · CORU · Complaint or fitness to practise inquiry

Privacy, Consent and Chaperone in Healthcare Practice for healthcare professionals facing a complaint to their regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry about an examination, consent or privacy

The complaint is about an examination: what was explained, what was agreed, and who was in the room.

Intimate examination — an intimate examination without explicit consent, or not explained first
Chaperone — no chaperone offered, or the offer and the answer not recorded
Consent — consent assumed, risks or alternatives not discussed, or old consent relied on
Withdrawal — an examination continued after hesitation, discomfort or a refusal
Privacy — a curtain left open, more of the body exposed than needed, or a conversation overheard
Capacity — capacity assumed or not recorded, or a vulnerable patient not given time or support to decide
Boundaries — a boundaries concern with a patient or a colleague: touch not explained, or familiarity misread
Any other concern — about privacy, consent or your conduct during an examination

Facing a complaint or a fitness to practise inquiry about privacy, consent or chaperone use — before the Medical Council, NMBI, the Dental Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or CORU?

This course is for a healthcare professional facing a complaint or a fitness to practise inquiry about an examination, consent or privacy. This course helps you remediate — and show the remediation, with a dated certificate for your written response, your reflection, an undertaking or an inquiry.

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10) Bulk Buy — from €70 a course

Price by number of courses
Courses	Price per course	You save
1	€100	No saving
2	€88	€25
3	€83	€50
5	€80	€100
10	€70	€300

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Immediate access · certificate on completion · twelve months' access

2 CPD hours
Self-paced
Written for Ireland
CPD certificate
From €70 a course (Bulk Buy of 10)

Our team

Dr Shehzad IqbalFounder, course author and facilitatorMBBS, MRCS, MRCGP
Dr Mo MirzaCourse facilitatorMedically trained, UCL London
Ludmila UpenieceBusiness development and supportPsychology, UEL London

At a glance

Who it is for: Any healthcare professional in Ireland facing a complaint, an employer investigation, a preliminary decision or a fitness to practise inquiry about an examination, consent, a chaperone or patient privacy
Regulator covered: Applies to practitioners registered with the Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), the Dental Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) or CORU
Length: 10 sections, 80 lessons, 2 CPD hours
Format: Self-paced, online, immediate access, twelve months from purchase
Certificate: Certificate issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses on completion, dated, with the course title and 2 CPD hours
Price: €100 · from €70 a course (Bulk Buy of 10)

Certificate issued by Healthcare Ethics CoursesRemediation courses for regulatory processes.

2CPD hours, issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses

10Sections, nine closing with a reflective quiz

80Lessons, plus a post-course assessment

€100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)One off. Twelve months' access

Sample certificate of continuing professional development for Privacy, Consent and Chaperone in Healthcare Practice, issued by Healthcare Ethics Courses, showing the name John Smith, 2 CPD hours and a date of completion, marked SAMPLE — Sample. Your certificate carries your name, the course title and the date you complete the course.

How healthcare professionals use it

With a written response to your regulator or its preliminary committee, alongside a reflection
When an undertaking or a consent is discussed, or in your evidence to an inquiry committee
As a dated record of remediation for the regulator when sanction is considered

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)

A complaint about an intimate examination

A patient says an examination was not explained, they did not agree to it, or they were uncomfortable and it continued. Sections 3 to 5 cover explicit consent for intimate examinations, stopping when consent is withdrawn, and offering a chaperone.

Asked whether a chaperone was offered

Your account and the patient’s differ, and the notes do not settle it. Section 5 covers when a chaperone should be offered, who can act as one, and what to do when none is available; Section 6 what the record should show.

Facing a complaint to your regulator

The Medical Council, NMBI, the Dental Council, the PSI or CORU has written to tell you of a complaint. Your first written reply is where your approach to consent and privacy is first read, and the course gives it a structure you can follow under pressure.

Facing an allegation of professional misconduct

A complaint about discomfort or poor communication has become an allegation about your conduct. Section 7 covers how complaints escalate to allegations, and Section 8 what investigators look for: explanation, consent, privacy, chaperone use and documentation.

Facing a fitness to practise inquiry

The complaint has gone to a Fitness to Practise Committee, a Professional Conduct Committee or a Health Committee. Remediation completed before the hearing, dated and documented, is evidence you can put before the committee and the regulator.

Under an undertaking, conditions or a sanction

An undertaking you have given, conditions on your registration or a sanction may ask you to show what you have done to address the concern. The certificate is dated and records 2 CPD hours, and the course shows the other evidence that sits beside it.

Intimate and sensitive examinations

A breast, genital, pelvic or rectal examination without a clear explanation or explicit consent. Sections 3 and 4 cover the enhanced safeguards: explain what the examination involves and why, offer a chaperone, seek explicit verbal consent immediately before, and defer or stop if the patient is unsure.

Chaperones

Not offered, offered but not recorded, or a relative treated as a chaperone. Section 5 covers when to offer one, when one may be required, the patient’s choice, the chaperone’s role, and the difference between a support person and a formal chaperone.

Consent assumed

An examination treated as standard, old consent relied on for new care, risks and alternatives not discussed. Section 3 covers capacity, information and voluntariness, and implied, verbal and written consent; Section 4 consent in everyday care, emergencies and ongoing treatment.

Refusal and withdrawal

Hesitation, silence or discomfort read as agreement; a refusal met with pressure. Section 3 covers consent as an ongoing process that can be withdrawn at any time, and Section 4 respecting refusal and withdrawal and recording the discussion.

Physical and informational privacy

A curtain left open, more of the body exposed than the examination needed, a conversation overheard on an open ward. Section 2 covers physical, informational and digital privacy, privacy in busy environments, and cultural and personal preferences.

Capacity and vulnerable patients

Capacity assumed, or a patient in pain, distressed or facing a language barrier not given time or support. Section 3 covers capacity as decision-specific and liable to change, and Section 4 consent with vulnerable patients, when capacity is reduced, and decisions in the patient’s best interests.

Professional boundaries with a patient or a colleague

Touch not linked to the examination, over-familiar language, a position or an exposure not explained. Section 7 covers how boundary concerns arise from misinterpretation, Section 5 how a chaperone protects both the patient and the professional, and Section 9 reflecting on boundaries and rebuilding trust with patients and colleagues.

What the record shows

A note that says consent obtained and nothing more. Section 6 covers documenting privacy steps, the consent discussion, intimate examinations, the chaperone offer and the patient’s answer, and the electronic record.

Facing a complaint to your regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry? This course helps you remediate — and show it.

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)

Ten sections and 80 lessons, with a reflective quiz closing each of the first nine and a post-course assessment at the end.

Show every lesson title

Section 01 · Introduction to Privacy, Consent, and Dignity in Healthcare: Why Privacy and Consent Matter; Privacy, Dignity, and Professional Boundaries; Consent as an Ongoing Process; Trust, Vulnerability, and Power Imbalance; Regulatory Expectations in Ireland; The Purpose of This Course.
Section 02 · Understanding Patient Privacy: What Patient Privacy Means in Healthcare; Physical Privacy During Consultations and Examinations; Informational Privacy and Confidentiality; Privacy in Shared and Busy Environments; Digital Privacy and Technology; Privacy, Cultural Sensitivity, and Individual Preferences; Privacy, Teamworking, and Access to Information; Regulatory Expectations in Ireland.
Section 03 · Principles of Valid Consent: What Is Valid Consent?; Capacity to Consent; Providing Adequate Information; Voluntariness and Freedom From Pressure; Ongoing and Situational Consent; Implied, Verbal, and Written Consent; Consent for Intimate and Sensitive Examinations; Documentation of Consent; Regulatory Expectations in Ireland.
Section 04 · Consent in Practice: Applying Consent Principles in Everyday Clinical Care; Consent for Examinations and Physical Contact; Consent in Intimate and Sensitive Situations; Consent in Emergencies and Urgent Situations; Consent and Vulnerable Patients; Consent When Capacity Is Reduced; Consent, Refusal, and Withdrawal; Consent Across Ongoing and Repeated Care; Documentation of Consent in Practice; Regulatory Expectations in Ireland.
Section 05 · Chaperones in Healthcare Practice: Why Chaperones Matter; When a Chaperone Should Be Offered; When a Chaperone May Be Required; Respecting Patient Choice About Chaperones; Who Can Act as a Chaperone; The Role of the Chaperone; Chaperones and Professional Boundaries; What to Do If a Chaperone Is Not Available; Documentation of Chaperone Use; Regulatory Expectations in Ireland.
Section 06 · Documentation of Privacy, Consent, and Chaperone Use: Why Documentation Is a Professional Safeguard; What Should Be Documented About Privacy; Documenting Consent Discussions; Documentation for Intimate or Sensitive Examinations; Documenting Chaperone Use and Patient Preferences; Electronic Records and Digital Documentation; Documentation When Concerns or Incidents Arise; Documentation and Regulatory Scrutiny.
Section 07 · Common Pitfalls, Complaints, and Allegations: Why Privacy and Consent Issues Lead to Complaints; Common Privacy Pitfalls in Daily Practice; Consent Pitfalls That Lead to Disputes; Chaperone-Related Complaints and Allegations; Boundary Concerns and Misinterpretation; How Complaints Escalate to Allegations; Regulatory Perspective on Complaints and Allegations; Responding Professionally to Complaints; Learning From Complaints and Allegations.
Section 08 · Investigations and Regulatory Expectations: How Privacy, Consent, and Chaperone Concerns Are Investigated; What Investigators Look for in Privacy and Consent Cases; Individual Accountability and Professional Judgement; Regulatory Thresholds and Escalation; Professional Behaviour During Investigations; Insight and Its Importance in Regulatory Outcomes; Evidence Regulators Rely On; Expectations of Irish Regulators.
Section 09 · Reflection, Insight, and Remediation: Why Reflection Is Essential in Privacy, Consent, and Chaperone Practice; What Regulators Mean by “Insight”; Reflecting on Communication and Assumptions; Reflecting on Boundaries and Professional Behaviour; Reflecting on Systems and Environment; From Reflection to Remediation; Examples of Remediation in Privacy and Consent Cases; Demonstrating Remediation and Learning; Rebuilding Trust With Patients and Colleagues; Reflection as an Ongoing Professional Practice.
Section 10 · Conclusion and Key Takeaways: Conclusion; Key Takeaways.

Whether it is read by your employer, at the preliminary stage or by an inquiry committee, a response about an examination is read for what was explained, what was agreed and what was recorded. These are the four parts to set out, and what the course gives you for each.

The patient’s account of how the examination felt is part of the evidence, not a misunderstanding to be corrected.

The patient’s experienceAcknowledged first, without dismissing or disputing it.Section 7 covers responding professionally to a complaint, and how dismissal escalates it.
What was explained and agreedThe explanation, the consent and the chaperone offer, as the record shows them.Sections 3, 5 and 6 cover valid consent, chaperones and what the record should contain.
What you see nowThe assumptions, the time pressure, the familiarity — and why they mattered.Section 9 covers reflecting on communication, assumptions, boundaries and systems.
What has changedA routine offer-and-document approach to chaperones, a changed consent discussion, evidence that it has held.Section 9 covers remediation and the evidence that shows it — and this course is a dated item for it.

There was no time explains the risk; it does not answer the complaint.

Take advice from your indemnifier, your union or professional body, or a solicitor before you respond to anyone.

Facing a complaint to your regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry? This course helps you remediate — and show it.

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)

The record decides disputes about examinations

When the patient’s account and yours differ, the record is read for whether the explanation, the consent and the chaperone offer happened. The course treats a missing record of the chaperone offer as a weakness in a professional’s position and sets out what to record each time (Sections 5 and 6), what investigators look for (Section 8), and why a complaint about discomfort can escalate to an allegation when it is met defensively (Section 7).

Insight is weighed

The Medical Council’s Guidance on Sanctions says a practitioner may demonstrate insight by providing evidence of their understanding of the problem, and NMBI’s Guidance on Sanctions says “Mere acknowledgement of the findings does not necessarily demonstrate insight.” Section 9 covers what insight means in a consent or chaperone case — what happened, why, its effect on the patient’s dignity and trust, the standard that applied and the safeguards since. For the stages from the first letter to the High Court, see the fitness to practise process in Ireland, explained.

Read the primary sources

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)

Dr Shehzad Iqbal

Course author and facilitator, Healthcare Ethics Ireland

Dr Iqbal wrote this course. He combines clinical practice with a formal postgraduate qualification in healthcare law and ethics, and has worked with registrants across the regulated health professions, online and face to face, since 2020.

He founded Probity & Ethics in the United Kingdom in 2020 and Healthcare Ethics Courses, which issues the certificates, in 2025. More about us.

MBBS · MRCS · MRCGP · Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Law and Ethics, University of Dundee

Written and reviewed by Dr Shehzad Iqbal. Last reviewed 22 October 2026.

Privacy, Consent and Chaperone in Healthcare Practice is a two-hour, self-paced remediation course for healthcare professionals in Ireland — registered with the Medical Council, NMBI, the Dental Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or CORU — who face a complaint, an employer investigation, a preliminary decision or a fitness to practise inquiry about an examination, consent, a chaperone or patient privacy. It covers privacy, consent and dignity, and the power imbalance in clinical care; physical, informational and digital privacy; the principles of valid consent — capacity, information and voluntariness — and consent as an ongoing process; consent in practice, from intimate examinations and emergencies to vulnerable patients, refusal and withdrawal; chaperones, when to offer one and what to do when none is available; documentation of privacy, consent and chaperone use; how complaints arise and escalate to allegations; investigations and what regulators look for; and reflection, insight and remediation. Ten sections, the first nine closing with a reflective quiz, a post-course assessment, and a dated certificate from Healthcare Ethics Courses. It is remediation and dated evidence of it; it decides no complaint, and it is not a substitute for advice from your indemnifier, your union or professional body, or a solicitor.

The three are linked: each protects the patient’s dignity and autonomy, and each is judged by what was explained, agreed and recorded. Privacy is broader than confidentiality of records: it covers the patient’s body, personal space and conversations — doors and curtains closed, only the part being examined exposed, an explanation before any touch. Valid consent needs capacity, adequate information and a free choice, and it continues through the examination: a patient may ask questions, refuse or withdraw at any time.

A chaperone is a safeguard for the patient and the professional, not a sign of mistrust. The course covers when one should be offered — intimate examinations, significant undressing, vulnerable patients, a significant power imbalance — and treats the offer, the patient’s answer and the chaperone’s name and role as part of the record.

In a written response, say what you explained, how consent was given, whether a chaperone was offered and what the record shows — then what you do differently now.

The three terms that decide where a complaint goes, and the words the course is built on.

Preliminary Proceedings Committee: The committee of the Medical Council, NMBI, the PSI and CORU that looks at a complaint before any inquiry: it may take no further action, suggest mediation, conclude the matter with an undertaking or a consent where its Act allows, or refer the complaint to an inquiry. Under the Dentists Act the Fitness to Practise Committee considers whether there is a prima facie case.
Fitness to practise inquiry: The hearing stage: before the Fitness to Practise Committee at the Medical Council, NMBI and the Dental Council, and before the Professional Conduct Committee or the Health Committee at the PSI and CORU. Any sanction heavier than an advice, admonishment or censure takes effect only when the High Court confirms it.
Professional misconduct: A ground under all five Acts — of a complaint under four of them, and of an application for an inquiry under the Dentists Act. The Dental Council describes it as a serious falling short in the standards expected of a dentist; the PSI as behaviour that goes against its Code of Conduct for registered pharmacists; CORU as any act, omission or pattern of conduct that breaches the Code.

Consent, chaperones and the other terms the course uses

Patient privacy: A person’s right to control access to their body, personal space, information and conversations during care — broader than the confidentiality of records.
Valid consent: Agreement given by a patient who has capacity, has been given adequate and relevant information, and decides voluntarily, without pressure.
Capacity: The ability to understand, retain and weigh information and communicate a decision. Decision-specific, presumed in adults, and liable to change with illness, pain, medication or distress.
Explicit, verbal and written consent: Explicit consent is essential for intimate examinations; verbal consent suits many examinations; written consent is required for invasive or significantly risky procedures and does not replace the explanation.
Implied consent: Consent inferred from a patient’s actions for low-risk, routine care, such as rolling up a sleeve for a blood pressure check.
Withdrawal of consent: A patient may refuse or withdraw consent at any time, in words or by their behaviour. Continuing afterwards can be a serious professional breach.
Intimate examination: An examination of the breasts, genitals, pelvis or rectum, or one the patient could reasonably see as intimate, calling for enhanced safeguards.
Chaperone: An appropriate, impartial person who understands the role, is present throughout and can see the examination, and can raise a concern.
Support person: A relative or friend the patient wants present for support. The course keeps the role distinct from that of a formal chaperone.

Ireland’s five health regulators each work under their own Act, all five amended by the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020. These are the sections that say who may complain, on what grounds, and who looks at the complaint first.

Also engaged: Sanctions — advice, admonishment or censure, conditions, suspension and cancellation (erasure under the Dentists Act): Medical Practitioners Act s.71, Nurses and Midwives Act s.69, Dentists Act ss.39 to 41, Pharmacy Act s.48, Health and Social Care Professionals Act s.66 · High Court confirmation — the heavier sanctions take effect only when the High Court confirms them; an advice, admonishment or censure on confirmation or once the appeal window of 21 or 30 days passes without an appeal · The 2020 Act — the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020, which amended all five Acts in stages from 2021 to 2025.

Each regulator has its own Act and its own names for the stages, and your letter tells you which stage you are at. At each of them the same three things are worth showing in writing: that you see what went wrong, that you understand it against your regulator’s code, and what you have changed, with dated evidence.

The complaint and the grounds
Anyone may complain, including the regulator itself. Under the Medical Practitioners Act and the Nurses and Midwives Act the complaint goes to the chief executive officer; under the Pharmacy Act it may be made by or on behalf of any person or by the registrar; under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act by or on behalf of any person or by a registration board. Under the Dentists Act the Council or any person applies to the Fitness to Practise Committee for an inquiry. Professional misconduct is a ground of complaint under the other four Acts, and a ground for an application for an inquiry under the Dentists Act.
The preliminary stage
The Medical Council, NMBI, the PSI and CORU each have a Preliminary Proceedings Committee. At the Medical Council the chief executive officer looks at a complaint first and may assign an Authorised Officer, and the committee decides whether there is enough cause to take further action. At NMBI the committee may refer a complaint to the Fitness to Practise Committee for a sworn oral inquiry, or suggest mediation or informal resolution; at the PSI it may refer a complaint to a committee of inquiry or to mediation; at CORU it screens out complaints that are trivial, vexatious, without substance or made in bad faith. Under the Dentists Act the Fitness to Practise Committee considers whether there is a prima facie case.
Undertakings, consents and mediation
A complaint can be concluded by agreement in some cases. At the Medical Council’s preliminary stage a doctor may be asked to undertake not to repeat the conduct, or to consent to censure (2025 procedures). At NMBI in 2024, 12 undertakings or consents concluded matters at the preliminary stage and the Fitness to Practise Committee recommended 32 (State of Complaints 2024). Undertakings were the largest single Committee of Inquiry outcome in the cases CORU concluded in 2022 to 2024: 13, against 7 censures (trends report). In 2024 the Dental Council accepted undertakings from a dentist instead of making a High Court application (Annual Report 2024). Mediation at NMBI and CORU needs the consent of both sides.
The inquiry
The inquiry committee is the Fitness to Practise Committee at the Medical Council, NMBI and the Dental Council, and the Professional Conduct Committee or the Health Committee at the PSI and CORU. At NMBI allegations against a nurse or midwife must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Medical Council inquiries are held in public unless the Council decides on a hearing in private or part private (Medical Council); CORU says its Professional Conduct Committee hearings are normally held in public and its Health Committee hearings normally in private.
The sanction and the High Court
Sanctions run from advice, admonishment or censure (admonishment or censure at the PSI and CORU) through conditions and suspension to cancellation, called erasure under the Dentists Act (MPA s.71, NMA s.69, Dentists Act s.39, Pharmacy Act s.48, HSCP Act s.66). The heavier sanctions take effect only when the High Court confirms them; an advice, admonishment or censure takes effect on confirmation or once the appeal window passes without an appeal: 21 days for doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists, 30 days for pharmacists and CORU registrants (MPA s.74, NMA s.72, Dentists Act s.41, Pharmacy Act s.50, HSCP Act s.68).
Interim measures and your first reply
Separately, the Medical Council says interim suspension is possible under section 60 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007; where there is a serious and immediate risk, the PSI’s Council can seek suspension from the High Court; and the Dental Council may apply to the High Court for suspension under section 44 of the Dentists Act. None of the five regulators publishes a fixed deadline for a first reply: the Medical Council gives not less than two weeks to respond to an Investigation Report, and NMBI says you may request an extension of time. Take advice before you reply.

Facing a complaint to your regulator or a fitness to practise inquiry? This course helps you remediate — and show it.

Buy this course — €100 (€70 with Bulk Buy 10)

A complaint about an examination can raise boundaries, communication and records as well. These are the courses that pair with this one.

Professional Boundaries Course

Emotional, sexual, financial and digital boundary breaches, early warning signs of boundary drift, case studies, and weak and strong responses to a boundary complaint.