Medical Ethics Interview Questions UK: Worked Cases
UK medicine ethics interview questions worked with NHS consent rules: Gillick competence, refusal, confidentiality and blame, with constructed answers.
Medical Ethics Interview Questions UK: Worked Cases
A UK ethics station is not a test of whether you can name the four principles. Manchester tells applicants not to work "the names of each of the principles of medical ethics into your answer" and says "There are often no right answers". What a strong answer adds is the published rule, where one exists, and a next step.
An answer that stops at autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice, then ends on "it depends", names the tension and leaves the interviewer waiting. For consent, capacity and refusal, the NHS publishes plain rules. This page works four cases with those rules and a five-step answer.
Every page quoted below was checked on 7 November 2026. The GMC's guidance pages, including Good Medical Practice, 0–18 years, decision making and consent, and confidentiality, returned HTTP 403 to our fetcher that day, so this page quotes none of them. Where a case turns on GMC guidance, we say so and do not guess its wording.
What UK schools say an ethics station tests
From Manchester's interview page (Manchester interviews, 2026/7 cycle):
"Ethical issues may be raised by the interviewers to assess your ability to coherently summarise the issues at stake. There are often no right answers in an ethical debate, and our interviewers will not be looking for a specific viewpoint."
And on preparation: "please don't fall into the trap of instantly listing all your work experience or trying to think of innovative ways of working the names of each of the principles of medical ethics into your answer."
Manchester points readers to "the GMC documentation on Good Medical Practice and the values enshrined in the NHS constitution". Imperial lists "evidence of commitment to the values of the NHS Constitution" first among its MMI criteria (Imperial Medicine). The NHS Constitution gives patients "the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you" and "the right to privacy and confidentiality" (NHS Constitution for England, updated 17 August 2023).
Our view: use the four principles to find the tension in your head, then say it in plain words, and spend your speaking time on the rule and the next step. The basis: Manchester asks you to "coherently summarise the issues", and warns against reciting principle names. The countercase: if an interviewer asks you directly about the four principles, name them and define each in a sentence. Answer the question asked.
A 5-step ethics answer
- Identify the conflict in one sentence: whose wishes, whose safety.
- Both sides. Give the strongest case for each, fairly.
- The rule. Say what the published rule is, if you know one. If you do not, say what you would need to find out.
- Decision. What you would do, in the role you are given.
- Next step. Who you would involve, what you would record, what you would check later.
Steps 3 and 5 are what turn "it depends" into an answer. The rules below are the ones the NHS publishes for patients.
The NHS rules behind the common cases
| Topic | What the NHS page says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Valid consent | "For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision." | NHS consent to treatment |
| Adult refusal | "If an adult has the capacity to make a voluntary and informed decision to consent to or refuse a particular treatment, their decision must be respected." "This is still the case even if refusing treatment would result in their death, or the death of their unborn child." | NHS consent to treatment |
| 16 and 17 | "Like adults, young people (aged 16 or 17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there's significant evidence to suggest otherwise." | NHS children and young people |
| Under 16 | "Children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they're believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what's involved in their treatment. This is known as being Gillick competent." | NHS children and young people |
| Parent refuses | "If a parent refuses to give consent to a particular treatment, this decision can be overruled by the courts if treatment is thought to be in the best interests of the child." | NHS children and young people |
| Capacity | "Capacity means the ability to use and understand information to make a decision, and communicate any decision made." | NHS assessing capacity |
The NHS consent pages were last reviewed on 8 December 2022, with a next review shown as due 8 December 2025. They were still live on 7 November 2026.
Consent and capacity, including Gillick competence
The case: a 15-year-old asks a GP for contraception and does not want her parents told.
The rule you can state: under-16s can consent if they are Gillick competent, in the NHS's words above. Capacity is about understanding and using the information, not about age alone.
The part you cannot settle from NHS pages: what a doctor must do about confidentiality for an under-16 is set out in the GMC's 0–18 years guidance, which we could not retrieve. Say that a doctor would follow that guidance and would assess whether there is a safeguarding concern. Do not invent its wording.
Refusal of treatment: the Jehovah's Witness station
The case: an adult Jehovah's Witness refuses a blood transfusion after a car crash.
The rule you can state: the NHS gives this exact example. "For example, a person who refuses to have a blood transfusion because it's against their religious beliefs would not be thought to lack capacity." An adult with capacity may refuse, and the refusal "must be respected", even if it leads to death.
If the patient is a child: a parent's refusal "can be overruled by the courts if treatment is thought to be in the best interests of the child", and "In an emergency, where treatment is vital and waiting for parental consent would place the child at risk, treatment can proceed without consent."
What to leave out: any view on the religion itself. The station tests whether you respect a decision you might not make, not whether you agree with it.
Confidentiality: the driving and epilepsy case
The case: a patient with epilepsy has had a seizure and says he will keep driving to work.
The rule you can state: the patient's own duty is published. NHS: "If you've had any type of seizure you must not drive, and you must tell the DVLA." (NHS epilepsy) The patient also has, in the NHS Constitution's words, "the right to privacy and confidentiality".
The part you cannot settle from NHS pages: whether and when a doctor may tell the DVLA without consent is GMC confidentiality guidance, which we could not retrieve. A strong answer says the first steps are to explain the risk to the patient and others, encourage him to tell the DVLA himself, and record the conversation, and that a doctor would follow the GMC's guidance on disclosure if he refuses.
Mistakes and blame: the "systems vs individual" question
The case: "A junior doctor made an error and a patient died. Who is responsible?" This page does not summarise any real case, because we did not verify one from a GMC or court page. If an interviewer names a case, stick to the facts you have read in a primary source, or ask what part of it they want you to discuss.
The rule you can state: the government published the Williams review on 11 June 2018. Its page says it "was set up to look at the wider patient safety impact of concerns among healthcare professionals that simple errors could result in prosecution for gross negligence manslaughter, even if they happen in the context of broader organisation and system failings", and that it "makes recommendations to support a more just and learning culture in the healthcare system" (Williams review, published 11 June 2018).
Both sides: individual accountability protects patients and public trust. Fear of blame can stop staff reporting errors, which harms the next patient. The NHS Constitution's "Working together for patients" value includes "We speak up when things go wrong."
Three worked answers
Constructed example: the Gillick case
Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant answer.
Identify: She wants contraception and confidentiality; her parents may expect to be told. Both sides: respecting her choice keeps her using health services; her age raises the question of whether she understands the decision and whether she is safe. Rule: under 16, she can consent if she is Gillick competent, meaning she fully understands what is involved. Decision: I would expect the GP to assess her understanding and, if she is competent, treat her. Next step: encourage her to talk to a parent, check there is no sign of exploitation, and follow the GMC's guidance on confidentiality for young people.
What makes it work: the rule sentence is the NHS's, and the answer admits which part rests on guidance the speaker would need to check.
Constructed example: the adult refusal
Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant answer.
Identify: a transfusion could save his life; he refuses it on religious grounds. Both sides: doctors want to save life; he has a right to decide what happens to his body. Rule: if he has capacity, his refusal must be respected, and the NHS says a refusal on religious grounds is not itself a sign of lacking capacity. Decision: confirm he understands the risk, then respect his decision. Next step: ask about treatments he would accept, record his decision clearly, and make sure he knows he can change his mind.
Constructed example: the driving case
Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant answer.
Identify: his privacy against the safety of other road users. Both sides: breaking confidentiality could stop him trusting doctors; keeping quiet could put people at risk. Rule: he must not drive and must tell the DVLA. Decision: I'd explain the danger plainly and ask him to tell the DVLA today. Next step: record the conversation, check whether he has, and follow the GMC's guidance on disclosure if he will not.
All three end on a next step a doctor could take on the day, which is the part "it depends" leaves out.
Questions about UK ethics interview questions
Should I mention the four pillars of medical ethics?
Only if asked. Manchester warns against working the principle names into your answer. Use them to think, then speak in plain words.
Do I need to know the law for an ethics station?
Manchester says the interview "is not a test of your academic knowledge". The NHS consent rules above cover the consent and refusal cases on this page; for the rest, say what you would need to check.
Is there a right answer to an ethics question?
Manchester: "There are often no right answers in an ethical debate". There are wrong ones: answers that ignore a published rule or skip the next step.
Are UK ethics stations different from US ones?
The cases overlap. UK schools point to the NHS Constitution and GMC guidance. For US practice, see MMI ethics scenarios.
Review the writing you send next
If you reapply, your next UCAS medicine personal statement is where you show what you understand about a doctor's work. Get a free Quick Review of your UCAS medicine personal statement: GradPilot's UCAS medicine rubric checks what your three answers show about the doctor's role, from evidence you saw yourself.
More UK interview guides: the UK MMI station question bank, the MMI role-play station guide, NHS hot topics for 2027 entry, the UCAS medicine personal statement guide and the medical school essays hub.
Sources
Retrieved 7 November 2026, except where noted.
- University of Manchester, Medicine interviews (2026/7 cycle): ethics questions, no right answers, principle names, GMC and NHS Constitution pointer.
- Imperial College London, Medicine MBBS/BSc (2027 entry page): NHS Constitution values criterion.
- Department of Health and Social Care, The NHS Constitution for England (updated 17 August 2023): rights to refuse treatment and to confidentiality; "We speak up when things go wrong."
- NHS, Consent to treatment, Children and young people and Assessing capacity (last reviewed 8 December 2022): consent, Gillick competence, refusal, capacity, emergency treatment.
- NHS, Epilepsy: seizure and driving duty.
- Department of Health and Social Care, Williams review into gross negligence manslaughter in healthcare (11 June 2018): purpose and aim of the review.
- Not retrieved: GMC Good Medical Practice, 0–18 years, decision making and consent, and confidentiality guidance (HTTP 403 on 7 November 2026). Nothing from them is quoted.
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