Should patient confidentiality still be observed when a parent encourages a suicidal teenager to see his GP?

[WendyWeber]

Terribly sad local story

So after being warned by her son's friends of his state of mind his mother encouraged him to go, went in with him, and then came out so that he could talk more freely, but the doctor didn't/couldn't then tell her what was said, and now her son is dead.

Can that be right?

About the babies!

Why does she have a 13-bedroom house? Haven't her kids all grown up and gone? Is she running a hostel or a guest house?

From bitter personal experience of a child trying to kill themselves, I think GP's ought to let the parents know if the child is "clinically" suicidal as opposed to what they might class as "parental fussing". There is a huge difference believe you me. I thank goodness that our GP told us to keep an eye on our son. Yes, he did try and strangle himself and he was eventually classed as clincially depressed and put under CAMHS but it took almost a month from the event. My son was only 9 at the time. He is now 13 and going through his second bout of clinical depression but, he has received the appropriate medication quickly enough for me to know that the suicidal tendancies have gone away and he just needs help dealing with his own personal condition (AS).

About the babies!

Why does she have a 13-bedroom house? Haven't her kids all grown up and gone? Is she running a hostel or a guest house?

its a very old article but i think she did have several children ......still got legal aid tho

Oh Candlewax You must be on eggs all the time with your son. Did his being only 9 mean it was easier for the GP to pass on the information, do you think? Does the fact that a child has AS make a difference? And does having his depression recognised & treated before mean he is more likely to be dealt with swiftly now?

Do you think that to the GP, the one in my link was just a lovesick teenager & didn't mean it? That's what worries me most really - that if someone had recognised how seriously disturbed he was at the time he could have been helped through it

I take my son's depression seriously because I know now that if he wanted to kill himself he could. And, it is a lot "easier" than we probably thought it could be. Children do not have any real concept of just how easy it is to kill themselves - until it is too late of course.

Having said that, I think it must be very hard for a GP to tell the parents without breaking any confidentialities.

I left home at 16, I was earning a wage and paying rent. I think it may even depend on the age of the GP and how seriously they may or may not take teenage suicidal tendancies. I firmly believe that if a child is living at home, then the parents ought to be informed. It would be much harder if the child has left home because after all they are not exactly a child any more if they are supporting themselves.

In answer to one of your questions, yes I take my son's depression seriously because of his AS as AS teenagers have a high suicide rate due to their not wanting to be "different" to their peers.

AT 9, it was very easy for me to go into the GP room with him. At 13 it is not. If he does not want me in there, I have to leave. In the same way that if he gets upset with the GP and leaves their room, they ask me to leave as they cannot discuss a child who is not actually present in the room.

So, all in all, it is a no win situation for a parent.