{"id":4969,"date":"2021-02-17T18:41:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T18:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/?p=4969"},"modified":"2023-10-09T13:31:38","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T13:31:38","slug":"medical-treatment-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/02\/17\/medical-treatment-child\/","title":{"rendered":"When Parents and Doctors Disagree About a Child&#8217;s Medical Treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/When-Parents-and-Doctors-Disagree-About-a-Childs-Medical-Treatment.jpg\"><img data-attachment-id=\"5033\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2021\/02\/17\/medical-treatment-child\/when-parents-and-doctors-disagree-about-a-childs-medical-treatment\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/When-Parents-and-Doctors-Disagree-About-a-Childs-Medical-Treatment.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"764,573\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/When-Parents-and-Doctors-Disagree-About-a-Childs-Medical-Treatment-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/When-Parents-and-Doctors-Disagree-About-a-Childs-Medical-Treatment.jpg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5033\" src=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/When-Parents-and-Doctors-Disagree-About-a-Childs-Medical-Treatment.jpg\" alt=\"When Parents and Doctors Disagree About a Child's Medical Treatment\" width=\"764\" height=\"573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/When-Parents-and-Doctors-Disagree-About-a-Childs-Medical-Treatment.jpg 764w, https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/When-Parents-and-Doctors-Disagree-About-a-Childs-Medical-Treatment-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A seriously ill child, what\u00a0could be more heart breaking? But it\u2019s even more heart breaking when parents can\u2019t agree with the doctors about the child&#8217;s medical treatment or where parents can\u2019t agree between themselves. There\u2019s a strong chance this question will end up in Court and it\u2019s vitally important to consult a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>lawyer<\/em><\/a> who specialises in this area of the law.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What happens at Court<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Court will consider the evidence from<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0doctors and the parents<\/li>\n<li>A guardian appointed to represent the child\u2019s best interests<\/li>\n<li>Any experts instructed by the doctors, parents, or child&#8217;s guardian<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>The parents\u2019 evidence<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Parents can give evidence both in written statements and orally. But if parents find this prospect overwhelming their lawyer will speak on their behalf.<\/p>\n<p>What parents say about their child is of course vitally important. How\u00a0does\u00a0the illness and the current treatment affect the child\u2019s quality of life?\u00a0Is the child able to interact with their family?\u00a0Is there a strong bond between parents and child? Are the parents able and willing to care for their child?<\/p>\n<p>It is also important to hear the parents\u2019 point of view on treatment the doctors recommend.<\/p>\n<p>And parents often have religious beliefs they wish to be taken into consideration.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The child\u2019s guardian<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The child&#8217;s guardian is under a duty to safeguard the interests of the child and\u00a0to ensure\u00a0any decisions made will\u00a0protect them, promote their welfare and are in their best interests. Accordingly the guardian will consider all the evidence, and the love and care for the child that the parents demonstrate.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Court makes a decision<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Court makes a decision following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Acts of Parliament<\/li>\n<li>Law laid down by previous cases<\/li>\n<li>Guidelines of professional bodies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>What is in the child&#8217;s best\u00a0interests<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This is the fundamental question.<\/p>\n<p>There\u00a0may well be conflicting considerations and the Court will have to find a balance between them. This is because the best interests of the child must prevail and must apply even to cases where parents, for the best of motives, hold an alternative view.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How are the child\u2019s best interests decided<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Court will rely on cases such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.uk\/cases\/uksc-2013-0134.html\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Aintree University Hospital NHS Trust v James [2013] UKSC 67<\/em><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/kings-college-hospital-nhs-foundation-trust-v-haastrup-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v Haastrup [2018] EWHC 127 <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Following these cases, the Court must consider:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Is it in the child\u2019s best interests for the treatment to be given or for it to be withheld or withdrawn<\/li>\n<li>What is best for the\u00a0child\u2019s welfare in the widest sense, not just medical but social and psychological<\/li>\n<li>The medical treatment &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li>what does it involve<\/li>\n<li>how high are its\u00a0prospects of success<\/li>\n<li>is the\u00a0outcome for the child likely to be good<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>What the child&#8217;s\u00a0attitude towards the treatment is or is likely to be<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><strong>The preservation of life<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>All steps must be taken to preserve life. But this is outweighed if quality of life\u00a0is\u00a0low and the pain and suffering\u00a0are high.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The right to life<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The child has a right to life under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.equalityhumanrights.com\/en\/human-rights-act\/article-2-right-life#:~:text=No%20one%20shall%20be%20deprived,penalty%20is%20provided%20by%20law.\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Article 2 of the Human Rights Act<\/em><\/a>. This imposes a positive obligation to provide life sustaining treatment. But this doesn\u2019t extend to providing treatment if it would be futile and where it would not be in the child&#8217;s best interests.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The views of the parents<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Court will consider the views and opinions of the parents. But the Court will not put the parents\u2019 wishes before the best interests of the child.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The views of the child<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The views of the child must be considered depending on their age and understanding.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Guidelines of professional bodies<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Court will consider the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health guidance<span style=\"font-family: 'Georgia',serif; color: #333333;\">\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/adc.bmj.com\/content\/100\/Suppl_2\/s1\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Making Decisions to Limit Treatment in Life-limiting and Life-threatening Conditions in Children: a Framework for Practice.<\/i><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This sets out circumstances in which it may be appropriate to consider withholding or withdrawing life sustaining treatment for example where there is limited quality of life.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>When Parents and Doctors Disagree About a Child&#8217;s Medical Treatment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Contact Family Lawyer Joanne Houston on\u00a0<a href=\"tel:01962%20217640\">01962 217640<\/a>\u00a0for an initial\u00a0consultation on\u00a0<em>When Parents and Doctors Disagree About a Child&#8217;s Medical Treatment.\u00a0<\/em>In this 20 minute session she will review your situation and how you can achieve your objectives.<\/p>\n<p><em>JUST FAMILY LAW are specialist divorce and family lawyers. We offer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/06\/02\/pay-as-you-go-divorce-costs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pay as you go costs<\/a>. We offer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2019\/01\/17\/what-is-collaborative-family-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Collaborative law<\/a>\u00a0solutions tailored to your family\u2019s needs.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The topics covered in this blog post\u00a0<em>When Parents and Doctors Disagree About a Child&#8217;s Medical Treatment<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>are complex<\/strong><strong>. They are provided for general guidance only. If any of the circumstances mentioned in this blog apply to you, seek expert legal advice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>image for\u00a0<strong><em>When Parents and Doctors Disagree About a Child&#8217;s Medical Treatment\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Happy Parents and Baby by Sheldonl on\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Parents_and_their_baby.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">Wikimedia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A seriously ill child, what\u00a0could be more heart breaking? But it\u2019s even more heart breaking when parents can\u2019t agree with the doctors about the child&#8217;s medical treatment or where parents can\u2019t agree between themselves. There\u2019s a strong chance this question will end up in Court and it\u2019s vitally important to consult a lawyer who specialises [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[268],"tags":[646,648,644,643,645,647,651,650,642,652,653,649],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4969"}],"version-history":[{"count":67,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5037,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969\/revisions\/5037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}