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Where am I now? Lawlink > Law Reform Commission > Publications > Issues Paper 24 (2004) - Minors' consent to medical treatment
Issues Paper 24 (2004) - Minors' consent to medical treatment Table of contents Terms of reference 1. Introduction Making decisions about medical treatment: key concerns
Younger children Scope of current regulation and State intervention Rights and interests at stake Medicare: a practical obstacle to medical care? Definitions
“parents and guardians” “consent” “medical treatment” “medical practitioners” 2. Young people’s capacity to make medical decisions - the current law
The level of understanding required
Interaction of s 49 and the common law Overlapping rights of young persons and their parents Part 5 of the Guardianship Act 1987
The young person’s best interests 3. Young people’s capacity to make medical decisions - models for reform Should young people be able to make decisions about their own medical care?
Model one: assess consent according to each young person’s capacity to understand Model two: assess consent by fixing a general cut-off age Model three: assess consent according to the young person’s age and capacity to understand Model four: assess consent according to the type of medical treatment Model five: assess consent according to specific groups of young people Formulating an alternative model: selecting indicators from each proposed model for reform The role of parents in the proposed model for reform
Reasons for rejecting a right to refuse
Termination of pregnancy Pregnancy-related health care 4. Making decisions about medical care for young people who are not competent to decide for themselves Overview
Legislative requirements Jurisdiction to make medical decisions: choosing between the Family Court, the Supreme Court and the Guardianship Tribunal Responsibility for the decision: parents versus authorisation by an external body Limits on the ability of the mature young person to make medical decisions 5. Treating young people without consent
Statute
Section 204 of the Mental Health Act 1990 (NSW) Part 5 of the Guardianship Act 1987 (NSW)
Children’s court assessment orders Minor treatment 6. Young people with mental illness or intellectual disability
Intellectual disability The permanence/transience of a condition and capacity to consent
Refusal The Mental Health Act 1990 (NSW)
Involuntary admission to hospitals Consent and refusal to treatments for those admitted to hospitals 7. Treating young people with special needs Young people in out-of-home care
Power to consent to medical treatment Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Young people who are homeless Young people in juvenile detention centres Young people whose parents are not competent to make medical decisions 8. Liability and protection of medical practitioners
Negligence Current protection from civil liability Disciplinary action Honest and reasonable mistakes by medical practitioners Non-touching medical treatment Professional indemnity insurance
The medical indemnity crisis 9. Disclosure of and access to young people’s health information Overview
Sources of the duty of confidentiality
Arguments against granting patient access The common law position Legislation allowing access to medical records 10. Consolidation or codification Appendix A: Summary table of models for reform Appendix B: List of submissions Tables |
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