can anyone help what would you do in a case wher parents give informed consent for treatment and the child a minor refuses treatment who has the final say replies from UK would be good but any help will be greatly apprieciated and soon dissertation time coming up :nurse

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also does anyone want to listen to these kids when they say no i dont want this or that

Firstly it depends on the child, the age, the maturity, the knowledge etc. It is a completely normal reaction for the parents of a child to want to explore and follow every avenue of treatment, but sometimes the child has had enough. Although the child is a minor, they should be shown the respect to talk out their fears and ask questions (and refuse treatment). However, this is a minefield and I would probably insist on a clinical psychologist talking to the family and to the child.

a child under 16 can consent (depending on age and maturity) but can not refuse. If the child refuses its the parents who consent.Its the law im afraid. so looking into it a child can only say 'yes'

a new legal phrase has thus been added to the language. gillick competent means that a child(14-16) is considered to have the competence to make a decision in a specific set of circumstances. clearly the nature of the decision will determine the level of competence required for a valid decision to be made. but of course those kids who are totally dependent does not have a statutory right to give consent to or refuse treatment.

a new legal phrase has thus been added to the language. gillick competent means that a child(14-16) is considered to have the competence to make a decision in a specific set of circumstances. clearly the nature of the decision will determine the level of competence required for a valid decision to be made. but of course those kids who are totally dependent does not have a statutory right to give consent to or refuse treatment.

In fact, Gillick Competence can be attributed to any age of child, providing they have full mental competence and a realistic knowledge of prognosis and further treatment options. I have personally seen children that have been 'Gillick competent' as young as 11 y.o. One that springs to mind was a 12 year old who had been receiving treatment for leukaemia for an extended period of time and was on his 6th PICU admission. After meeting with the family and the child it was agreed to honour the child's wishes and he was allowed to die peacefully.