Fraser guidelines or Gillick competence?

Abstract

Fraser guidelines, Gillick competence; phrases that anyone involved in the care of children will have heard. However, there is often confusion regarding the meaning of these two terms and they are frequently used as substitutes for each other, as if they were interchangeable rather than two distinct but related terms.

Effectiveness of school‐based humanistic counselling for psychological distress in young people: Pilot randomized controlled trial with follow‐up in an ethnically diverse sample

“…The Pastoral Care Team were also asked to confirm whether the pupils identified would be able to provide consent. In the UK, consent made by a young person under the age of 16 follows the ‘Gillick competence’ principle arising from a legal ruling in the case of Gillick v Norfolk (1985; Cornock, ; Fallon, ) that a young person is able to provide consent for treatment based on their intellectual and emotional competence, and their understanding of the proposed treatment and its implications.…”

A systematic review and qualitative synthesis of adolescents’ views of sexual readiness

“…doctors, nurses and midwives, must make a professional judgement before providing contraception to a child of reproductive age, most often without their parents' consent. Currently in the UK, healthcare professionals follow the 'Fraser Guidelines' (BILII, 1985) which provide guidance to health professionals on assessing adolescents' sexual competence, prior to delivering sexual health treatment and advice (Wellings et al 2001, Cornock 2007, Hayhoe 2008. Set out by Lord Fraser in his judgment of the Gillick case in the House of Lords (1985) and sometimes referred to as a test of Gillick Competence, the Fraser Guidelines assist healthcare professionals to decide whether a child is mature enough to make decisions about their sexual health.…”

A qualitative study to assess school nurses' views on vaccinating 12–13 year old school girls against human papillomavirus without parental consent

“…The "Fraser Guidelines" are a set of specific criteria to be met by medical practitioners when providing contraceptive advice to under 16's without parental knowledge [ 8 ]. In addition to assessing competency, these require the health professional to assess the risk to the child of not receiving contraceptive advice, and whenever possible, to persuade the child to involve the parents [ 9 ]. Although originally related to contraceptive advice, Fraser guidelines have been widely adopted and applied to the consent process for other sexual health interventions such as treatment of sexually transmitted infections.…”