The rise and fall of children’s consent to surgery
Priscilla Alderson Reader in Childhood Studies, Institute of Education, University of London.
Recent court rulings have undermined respect for children’s right to consent to or refuse treatment. Priscilla Alderson questions whether lawyers and doctors can be relied upon to make fair decisions for children
In England and Wales, people aged over 16 years old can give valid consent to treatment according to the Family Law Reform Act 1969 s8. The consent of people under 16 is legally valid if their doctor considers that they are competent to make an informed and wise decision (Gillick 1985; Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act, 1991 s2, (4)). The 1989 Children Act, and similar Acts for Scotland and Northern Ireland, state that children deemed to be competent can ‘refuse medical or psychiatric examination’.
Nursing Children and Young People.
12, 2, 6-8.
doi: 10.7748/paed.12.2.6.s8
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