When working with minors and their families in clinical practice, clinicians may encounter complex legal situations that require a nuanced understanding of family court matters.
This CPD activity is divided in two sections.
Section A (Reviewing Performance, 1 hour) involves a review and self-assessment of your own understanding of Gillick competency principles and how to obtain informed consent from minors who request access to healthcare interventions. After completion of a self-assessment questionnaire, you will be presented with two clinico-legal scenarios to discuss and an opportunity to identify future learning activities.
Section B (Measuring Outcomes, 5 hours) invites you to utilise health documentation and data from your practice to evaluate different aspects of your (or your team’s) current practices to ensure quality and safety of patient care when providing care to:
Option (a) Gillick competent minors requesting access to healthcare without parental discretion.
Option (b) Minors whose parents are divorced or separated or where a court order or parenting order is in place
Option (c) Families involved in family court proceedings which involve clinicians responding to subpoenas, preparing reports and/or giving evidence in family court proceedings.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this activity, you should be able to:
- Critically evaluate your own understanding, strengths and areas of non-compliance in the clinico-legal risk management of care provided in circumstances where a patient is a mature minor, divorced parents have enforceable legal orders and/or there have been court requests to respond to subpoenas, prepare report and/or give evidence in family court proceedings.
- Plan CPD goals to improve informed decision-making and proactive management of issues involving current or potential family law matters in clinical practice.
- Conduct a mini audit of clinical records related to the provision of healthcare to minors or families involved in family court matters and apply insights to improve record keeping practices and enhance overall clinical quality.
