consent in children Flashcards
what is the age of consent
is 16 – consent is presumed to be from the pt themselves, rights of others drop away
when can people under 16 give consent
Gillick exception
how many people do you need to give consent
only 1
who can give consent on behalf of the child
people with parental responsibility, even if not parent ie:
o Mother – always
o Father – if married at time of childs birth, or if name on certificate
o Legally appointed guardian by court
o Local authority with a care or protection order
explain the Gillick case
o Lord fraser – allows contraception being given to children on basis of best interest not to get pregnant
o What is in the childs best interest is how law will fall
o The girl understands what the dr is saying – make sure she takes it at the same time every day, breathing problem, clot in lungs – take it reliably – if don’t understand, cant take reliably
o If child is happy for parent, call them in
o If don’t want parent – respect that
o What going to do if don’t give pill – if save herself until 16 then don’t need to give it to her. If not then best interest for her to have the pill – allow the child to be a keyholder. Parents still keyholder but don’t know about it
o Now not just pill if really don’t want parent involved - can be other medication/treatment
o Lower age more justification of them knowing what going on
can children refuse treatment
No
o It’s about best interests
o If meningitis – give penicillin, everything you offer pts is in best interest – so refusing go against best interest – so court wont allow <16 to refuse treatment
what is the grey area with refusing treatment
> 16 you can give consent
but Court authority end at 18 for some children when no parent
so 16-17 unlikely to be allowed to refuse treatment – best interest
sometimes 16-17 can refuse
grey area so seek legal advice
principles of consent in children
The law allows increasing autonomy to a minor with
increasing age, maturity and understanding.
Minors over the age of 16 can accept treatment but
cannot refuse life threatening treatment - their
refusal can be overridden by a court in order to prevent
serious harm. In contrast to 18 year olds.
Those with parental responsibility can consent to
treatment of a minor, but they must not allow the minor
to come to any serious harm, and must be seen to be
acting in their best interests.
• Thus, doctors and those with parental responsibility are
legally obliged to act in the minor’s best interests.
does consent have to be written
no
when can you act without parent consent
when you cant reach the parent, and you have to act out of necessity because it is life threatening
doctrine of necessity
can Dr sign the consent form
no
