Expert Guide
Young People - Medical Care and Capacity
This legal advice guide explains the competing legal rights relevant to the provision of healthcare to young people. It looks at when young people may consent to treatment and when they are entitled to require confidentiality in respect of their healthcare. We use the expression “young people” throughout this legal advice guide. This is not a term with a strict definition. In using it, we are referring to children under the age of 18 – who nevertheless have the intelligence, judgement and maturity to be involved in decisions about their medical care.
