Consent: Giving Permission for Treatment in Children and Young People’s Health Settings

Consent in healthcare is the process of agreeing or giving permission for treatment. There are different ways you can give consent which will depend on the circumstance.

Where possible the process for consent will include a joint discussion between you (child/young person), parent/carer and healthcare professional.

Informed consent means that you will be given all the information you need to make a decision that is balanced, with risks, benefits and potential alternative treatment you may wish to consider.

When will consent be required

You could give consent in different ways:

• Verbal – by saying you give permission for treatment
• Non-verbal – for example, by holding out your arm so blood pressure can be checked, is a non-verbal way of giving consent
• Written – for example by signing a consent form to give permission for treatment of you/ your child.

A consent form may be required for complex treatment to enable discussion around possible risks, such as general surgery. Consent may be asked more than once, for example if a procedure is scheduled for a future date this will be checked at a pre-admission appointment as well as the day of the procedure.

Clinical holding

During a procedure your child might need to keep still so the procedure can be performed. Some children are too young to understand that they need to keep still. Other children feel scared and this can make it difficult for them to keep still. When a child is held during a procedure it is called clinical holding. Even if a parent or carer is holding the child, it’s still called clinical holding. The benefit of being held is that the procedure can be completed promptly.

Holding is just one of the ways we can support a child during a procedure. There are lots of ways we can make the procedure better for them.

The need for holding can be reduced by addressing your child’s fears and providing coping strategies. Explaining what will happen, answering any questions they have, and encouraging your child to use effective distraction techniques are ways you can help.  

We will support you with how best to hold your child for the duration of the procedure, which sometimes mean holding for a long time so that the procedure can be completed. Any holding will take place for the shortest possible time.

It is ok if you aren’t able to hold your child, the staff on Kingfisher can support you with this and hold them instead.

If your child becomes very upset the procedure can be paused or stopped. 

If your child gets very upset during the procedure, there may be alternatives to holding, however this depends on how time urgent the procedure is. Carefully balanced decisions will be made in partnership with you / your child to ensure best interests are paramount.

If you have any questions, please speak to one of the paediatric team.

Holding carries a very low risk of causing physical harm to your child. Very occasionally there may be superficial marks on your child’s skin where they have been held. If you child becomes particularly distressed due to being held, there is chance this may impact on how they feel about procedures in the future. If your child is upset after the procedure and has further procedures planned, they may benefit from referral to our Health Play Specialist, who provides therapeutic play activities to support children and young people during their healthcare journey. They work to help children cope with illness, treatment, and recovery, often using play to explain procedures, manage pain, and reduce anxiety.

This leaflet only gives general information. You must always discuss the individual treatment of your child with the appropriate member of staff. Do not rely on this leaflet alone for information about your child’s treatment.

Age of consent

The ability to consent is dependant on your / your child’s age and whether they have been assessed to have competence and capacity to make the decision whether to have treatment.

Children under the age of 16 years can give consent for themselves if deemed capable of making the decision.

If you / your child is under the age of 16 years, is deemed competent and refuses treatment, this can be overruled with Parental Responsibility (PR), if a medical professional judges this is in their best interests.

Parental Responsibility refers to the individual who has legal rights, responsibilities, duties, power and authority to make decisions for a child.

If your child is under 16 years old, is judged competent and agrees to treatment, this cannot be overruled by someone with PR.

If you / your child under 16 years is judged incapable of making the decision, either due to their age, emotional maturity or learning disabilities, a person with PR can give permission.

For young people aged 16 years or older, their ability to consent for themselves is judged by the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

If you / your child is aged 16 or 17 years old, the law states that they must be the person who is asked to give consent unless they are not able to make the decision. You can only give consent on behalf of your 16 or 17 year old child if they are legally unable to consent for themselves.

Agreement on consent

You can change your mind at any point after giving consent. If you do change your mind, we may ask you to record this on the consent form. Changing your mind will not affect any care your child is given now or at any point in the future.

Our goal is for everyone involved to agree a decision that is in the best interests of the child or young person. There may be circumstances where agreement is difficult, in this situation it may be deemed appropriate to have a second opinion or appropriate person to act as an unbiased mediator.

There is a specialist court service that parents and the hospital can access together if ultimately a decision cannot be agreed. This is only sought as a last resort.

About this leaflet

Author: Acute Paediatric Matron Emma Collins and Ward Manager Emma Davies
Written: January 2026
Approved: January 2026
Review date: January 2029
Edition: v1

References: Sections reproduced from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.