Gillick Competence

NHS guidance explains the test in plain terms alongside the related rule for 16 and 17 year olds: 'People aged 16 or over are entitled to consent to their own treatment. This can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances', and 'young people (aged 16 or 17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there's significant evidence to suggest otherwise.' For children under that age, the test is different and turns on individual maturity rather than a fixed age: 'Children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they're believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what's involved in their treatment. This is known as being Gillick competent.'

Where a child is not assessed as Gillick competent, consent instead comes from a person with parental responsibility, and the law only needs one: 'By law, healthcare professionals only need 1 person with parental responsibility to give consent for them to provide treatment.' Even a person with parental responsibility does not have the final word if a court disagrees: 'If a parent refuses to give consent to a particular treatment, this decision can be overruled by the courts if treatment is thought to be in the best interests of the child.' In a genuine emergency, treatment does not wait on any of this: 'In an emergency, where treatment is vital and waiting for parental consent would place the child at risk, treatment can proceed without consent.'