Advice centre

Valid consent is just as important when treating children and young people as it is with adults. In some situations children are able to give consent themselves, and sometimes others need to take the decision on their behalf. This factsheet sets out the basic information to enable you to obtain the appropriate consent from children and young people.

The General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines Doctors’ use of social media establish the standards expected from every doctor practising in the UK. The guide details the principles of conduct for using social media and explains how doctors can put these principles into practice.

The Adults with Incapacity Act was introduced in 2000 to safeguard the welfare of adults (age 16 and over) who lack capacity for making their own healthcare decisions, due to a mental disorder or an inability to communicate. This factsheet provides information on how patients with incapacity should be cared for.

Supplementary GMC guidance to Confidentiality (2009) contains information for healthcare professionals on what to do when reporting gunshot and knife wounds.

Under the Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (MCA DOLS), six assessments have to be successfully conducted before a local authority (supervisory body) can authorise the deprivation of an individual’s liberty in a hospital or a care home.

The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (MCA DOLS) provide a legal framework around the deprivation of liberty.

Parental responsibility refers to the rights and responsibilities that most parents have in respect of their children. This factsheet gives advice on who has parental responsibility and where responsibility lies in situations in which there are disagreements over the best interests of the child.