Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about consenting to contraception.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash contraception

or in the contraception section of the zero toinals obstetrics and gynecology book.

So let's get straight into it.

Where you're concerned or unsure about the law, you can talk to a senior or to your medical

defence organisation.

This section gives an overview to help with your exam preparation

and cannot be used as advice about the law. A person is recognised as an adult with full

autonomy to make decisions about their health when they turn 18 years old. 16 and 17 year olds can also make independent decisions about their health, but if they refuse

treatment, this can be overruled in certain situations by parents, people with parental

responsibility, or by the court.

Children under 16 can make treatment decisions, but only if they're deemed to have

Gillick competence and we're going to talk in more detail about Gillick competence shortly

there is no lower limit to the age where children can make decisions about their health

however it's unusual for consent to be taken from someone under the age of 13.

The way this knowledge is usually tested in exams relates to girls under 16 who are seeking contraception from their GP.

This is the scenario that established Gillick competence and the Fraser guidelines in the first place.

So let's talk in more detail about Gillick competence.

Gillick competence refers to a judgment about whether the understanding and intelligence

of the child is sufficient to consent to treatment.

Gillick competence needs to be assessed on a decision-by-decision basis,

...