Children and consent: the key issues: Part II

Abstract

Gaining a valid consent from a patient is an area of law that has developed in recent years. Based on the principle that patients should have autonomy over their own bodies, and provided an adult has the capacity to make a decision, a patient has the right to give or refuse permission to a healthcare professional who may wish to provide care or treatment to them. The issue, however, is complicated when dealing with patients under the age of 18. In the second of two articles, Julia Parkhouse discusses consent to treatment and children under 16 years, and those aged 16 and 17 years, and the complex issue of such children refusing treatment.