Consent in Children

Question 1

Revision of the law of consent:

1. Patient must be given adequate ……..
2. Consent must be given ……….
3. Patients must have ………. to give the consent
4. Patient must make a ……..

Answer 1

1. information
2. voluntarily
3. capacity
4. decision

Question 2

The Law has specific rules about two groups of patients that may fail the capacity requirement of consent. Who are they?

Answer 2

children

adults who lack capacity

Question 3

In terms of the law, who is an adult?

Answer 3

Undecided, there are law of consent for those aged 16 and 17 yrs and one for

Question 4

Who has parental responsibility?

Answer 4

1. Mother of the child

2. Father of the child if married to mother (either at time of insemination or birth)

Question 5

How can an unmarried father of the child acquire parental responsibility? x5

Answer 5

• marrying mother
• written agreement with mother
• court order
• father appointed after mother’s death
• present to register the child, name on birth certificate

Question 6

How people other than parents might aquire parental responsiblty:
x 4

Answer 6

• adoption
• guardian (parents death)
• residence order e.g grandparent, but co-exists alongside parents
• Emergency protection order

Question 7

What does S.8 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969 say about 16 and 17 year olds consent?

Answer 7

They can consent to surgical, medical or dental treatment.
Cannot be overruled by parents
Can be overruled by court

However refusal can be overruled by parents and the court

Question 8

What is the law regarding children under 16 yrs?
Which bodies can overrule consent?
Which bodies can overrule refusal?

Answer 8

• Must have the capacity to consent - be gillick/fraser competent
• court
• parents and court

Question 9

What happens when a child is not gillick competent?

Answer 9

Consent may be given by anyone with parental responsibility

Question 10

If no-one with parental responsibility is willing to given consent then, can anyone/body overrule the parents refusal?

Answer 10

the court

Question 11

When parents want treatment that doctors do not believe in the best interests of the child what happens?

Answer 11

Court always does what is in the best interests of the child
Parental wishes should be accommodated but only to a certain point
Neither parents nor doctors wishes should take precedence over the child’s’ best interests

Question 12

What happens if parents disagree?

• In 1989
• Now

Answer 12

• In 1989, only one parent needed to give consent

- Now must go to court