Should teens be able to see their GP in private?

As it’s suggested under-17s can get medical advice without their parents...

NoT long ago, I spoke to a lovely mum who had received a lifechanging call from her GP. The doctor explained that the woman’s 13-year-old daughter had just been to see her. The girl felt so hopeless about the bullying she was getting at school, and told the doctor she had hatched a detailed and imminent plan to kill herself.

Because the mum had always put her child’s wellbeing first, she’d assumed mental health problems were something that affected other families. until that shattering moment, she had put her teen’s low mood down to a mix of the usual friendship issues and hormones, assuming they were nothing a cup of tea and a piece of cake couldn’t fix.

It was a call no parent ever wants to receive. But the fact the girl was able to see her GP on her own ultimately saved her life.

We all like to think our children will tell us everything. And most of the time, when kids fall ill or are in pain, we are the first people they turn to. But sometimes, out of embarrassment, a need for privacy, or a reluctance to hurt us, they don’t.

And that’s why I agree with the draft guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care

Excellence (NICE) which recommend people under 17 have the right to speak to a doctor without a parent present. It’s no different from the way children have confidential access to helplines such as Childline.

Because, of course, the other uncomfortable truth is sometimes parents are part of the problem. In some families, children feel their cries for help are not being heard. or they may have parents with authoritarian views who would deny them access to contraception or punish them for being sexually active.

Doctors already keep it confidential when children ask to see them, unless their life is at risk. NHS figures show that every year, thousands of underage girls already get contraceptive implants without the need for parental consent.

But these NICE guidelines go one step further. They are designed to get young people to actively take charge of their own healthcare.

We’re already behind as it is. In the u.S. it has long been recommended that appointments with paediatricians for children aged 13 and over include time without the parent in the room, so youngsters feel they can speak more openly if they want to.

Let’s not forget that taking charge of your health is not something we know how to do overnight. It takes practice, and it’s a skill our children can never learn too soon. n If you need support, call the Samaritans on 116 123.

They should take charge of their own healthcare