Young People

 

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Confidentiality and Consent: Your Rights

The principles of confidentiality apply equally to all patients, regardless of age. Young people are equally as entitled to confidentiality as all other patients. This means that 16 and 17 year-olds, as well as those under 16 who are ‘Gillick competent’ (see below), can been seen by a Doctor/Nurse, consent to treatment and expect that this and other medical information about them will be kept confidential, even from their parents, unless they consent to this information being shared. This applies equally to all treatments, including contraception and abortion.

A ‘Gillick competent’ child is one who is able to understand fully the options available to them and the consequences of each one. 16-17 year-olds are assumed to be competent to be seen alone and consent to treatment, unless it is demonstrated otherwise. A patient under 16 would have to be assessed as ‘Gillick competent’ by a clinician. The doctor/nurse will decide during a consultation whether they feel the patient to be competent or not.

image of happy teenagers

Patients over the age of 18 are regarded as adults, and no-one else has the right to make medical decisions for them or access medical information about them.

For more information on your rights, visit the Citizens' Advice Bureau.

 

Health and Wellbeing

There are many issues that you may wish to know more about as a young person. If you wish to discuss any of the following, you can do so by booking an appointment with one of our Practice Nurses or our Healthcare Assistant:

  • Exercise
  • Smoking
  • Contraception / Sexual Health
  • Bullying
  • Diets and eating
  • Drugs / Alcohol
  • Friendships / Relationships
  • Stress

For further information on the sexual health services we can offer, see the link to the 4YP website below or the 4YP tab in our 'Clinics & Services' section.

For further information on young people's health issues, visit the following links:

 

Useful links

Here are some useful links to further information and services.

Sexual Health

Counselling

Drugs & Alcohol

  • Bristol Drugs Project - help and support for those who use drugs or are affected by someone else's drug use.

Young Carers

  • Young Carers (run by the Carers' Support Centre) - support for young people who are caring for someone.

General Support

  • Childline - Support and advice for young people aged 19 and under
 

Let us know what you think!

If you have a comment or suggestion or any kind of feedback, we would like to hear about it. You can let us know your thoughts by completing this form or by using our comments & suggestions box - this can be found in the waiting area, by the reception window.

We also run a Patient Email Group to which we send practice updates a few times a year. Every email we send includes a comments form which can be completed and emailed straight back to us. If you would like to join the email group, please hand your email address in to reception or let us know using this form.

If you'd like to be even more involved, we also run a Patient Participation Group (PPG), which holds a meeting between patients and staff 3 times a year to discuss practice-related issues.

You can find more information on the Patient Participation Group page. If you'd like to join just send us your name and email address using this form and we'll be in touch.

Patients of all ages are welcome, so we'd love to see you there!