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Chapter 4 - The Law and Paediatric Anaesthesia

Consent, Refusal, Restraint and Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2025

By
Hugo Wellesley
Edited by
James Ip ,
Grant Stuart ,
Isabeau Walker  and
Ian James
James Ip
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London
Grant Stuart
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London
Isabeau Walker
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London
Ian James
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London
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Summary

This chapter explains the law surrounding consent for the medical treatment of children, when children can give consent themselves, who can give consent of their behalf and when a refusal of consent should be respected. It also considers guidelines relevant for the practice of restraint in paediatric anaesthesia. Finally, it discusses the unique features of the ethics of research involving children, including the levels of risk that are deemed acceptable.

Keywords

ConsentcompetenceGillick competencerefusal of consentparental responsibilityresearch involving childrenrestraintclinical holding
Type
Chapter
Information
Core Topics in Paediatric Anaesthesia , pp. 35 - 41
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

Further Reading

Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland. APA Hot Topic 18: Should the anaesthetist obtain consent when a child undergoes an MRI scan? Available at: www.apagbi.org.uk/professionals/education-and-training/apa-hot-topics. Accessed 18 May 2021Google Scholar
British Medical Association (BMA). Consent, Rights and Choices in Healthcare for Children and Young People. BMA Books. 2001Google Scholar
BMA. Parental Responsibility. BMA. 2008Google Scholar
General Medical Council (GMC). 0–18 Years: Guidance for All Doctors. GMC. 2018.Google Scholar
GMC. Decision Making and Consent. GMC. 2020.Google Scholar
Modi, N, Vohra, J, Preston, J. Guidance on clinical research involving infants, children and young people: an update for researchers and research ethics committees. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2014; 99:887–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Royal College of Nursing. Restrictive Physical Interventions and the Clinical Holding of Children and Young People. RCN. 2019Google Scholar
Yentis, S, Hartle, A, Barker, I, et al. AAGBI: Consent for anaesthesia. Anaesthesia 2017; 72:93–105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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