Working together
Working Together as Parents – Parental Responsibility & Consent for Assessment and Treatment
What is parental responsibility?
Almost all mothers and most fathers have legal rights and responsibilities as a parent – known as ‘parental responsibility’. If your child is under 16 and not mature enough to make decisions on their own, then someone with parental responsibility will need to consent to the child’s healthcare on their behalf.
What is consent?
Consent is when agreement is given for something. This may be agreeing to a referral, an assessment, or treatment.
I do not live with my child. How am I kept informed about my child’s appointments?
Where two parents share parental responsibility, it will be the duty of one parent to ensure that the rights of the other parent are respected, and vice versa, for the benefit of the child. Decisions regarding planned medical care should be made in consultation with the other parent, where possible.
Do both parents (those with parental responsibility) need to give consent for my child to be seen?
Healthcare staff legally only need one person with parental responsibility to give consent for the assessment / treatment to go ahead. This consent for health appointments is given at the point of referral and is assumed to be ongoing (although it can be withdrawn at any time). Consent for planned medical treatment, should be made in consultation with all holders of parental responsibility. It is the parents responsibility to ensure this.
What if I do not consent to the assessment or treatment but the other parent has consented?
If we become aware of information that suggests that there is a dispute between people with parental responsibility regarding the assessment / treatment, Healios may not be able to proceed until we have consent from both parties or evidence of a court order authorising that it is in the child’s best interest. It is down to both parties with parental responsibility to resolve this matter and we rely on those with parental responsibility providing us with accurate information.
Do both parents need to be at appointments?
We welcome both parents to the child’s appointments, although this is not a requirement. Our expectation is that the parent who receives the appointment letter, or any other documentation, will share it with the other parent. It is the parents responsibility to communicate information relating to the assessment with other people with parental responsibility.
We do not require information from both parents in order for an assessment to be clinically valid. We consider multiple sources of information when reaching a diagnostic decision. Parental information is just one part of this.
What happens if I do not agree with something in relation to my child?
In cases where one parent disagrees with the treatment or diagnosis, we may not be able to provide additional or separate appointments. It is therefore essential that people with parental responsibility communicate with each other regarding attendance at appointments, from the point of referral., especially in cases where one parent does not live with the child.
Please note – Our role as healthcare staff is to support the health needs of your child. We are unfortunately not able to assist with any disputes or act as an intermediary between parents. We therefore would appreciate that parents with parental responsibility work together to support us, in the best interests of the child. This can be a complex area, and although the above information will apply to the majority of cases, there may be circumstances where things are slightly different. If so, then we will discuss this with you
Proxy and Connection accounts on Panacea
Where parents are working together, both have access to our system Panacea. However, is it only possible to have one proxy on the account with one parent being a connection. The proxy is designated by the referring contract, we cannot change the proxy, unless the original proxy allows.