Consent and ethics: children and young people

General Medical Council (GMC)

• 0–18 Guidance for all doctors 2007 – A clear summary of a doctor’s duties when working with children – covers similar areas to the above but also communication, confidentiality and child protection. The guidance found in this document is binding on all doctors in the UK.
• Consent: patients and doctors making decisions together 2008 - This guidance for doctors sets out the principles on which good clinical decisions should be based. Patients and doctors making decisions together.
• Protecting children and young people: The responsibilities of all doctors 2014 - This guidance includes eight guiding principles and explores how doctors can make sure children and young people receive the care and support they need.
• Confidentiality guidance 2017 – good practice in handling patient information.

British Medial Association (BMA) 

• Children and young people ethics toolkit 2010 - A very useful series of guidance cards covering many areas including competence, consent, parental responsibility, best interests, refusal, restraint and research.
• Parental responsibility 2008 - Parental responsibility is a legal concept that consists of the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that most parents have in respect of their children

Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

• Mental Capacity Act (2005) at a Glance

A good summary of the impact of the Montgomery case at the Supreme Court in 2015, and how it has clarified the law to bring it into line with pre-existing professional guidance: McCombe K, Bogod D. Paternalism and consent: has the law finally caught up with the profession? Anaesthesia 2015;70:1016–1019

ReSPECT – Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment

ReSPECT is a process that creates personalised recommendations for a person’s clinical care in a future emergency in which they are unable to make or express choices. It provides health and care professionals responding to that emergency with a summary of recommendations to help them to make immediate decisions about that person’s care and treatment. ReSPECT can be complementary to a wider process of advance/anticipatory care planning and can be offered to children and young people who want to be actively involved in planning their end of life care.

Children and Young Persons Advance Care Plan Collaborative

You may also find it useful to refer to the resources in our educational resources section.