Opting out of vaccinations. Is this normal?

[CarmenMonoxide]

My dd had a fairly long absence from school due to ilness last year.
Apparently during this time her year had the cervical cancer vaccination.
she has told me they are having phase 2 next week and her name is down on the list for having it. I have to write a letter if she isn't having it.
I thought you had to give consent for it, not the other way around?

Also regarding your comments on the Hannah Jones case. It's good to know that you agree that, where sufficient expert information is given to a minor, they are able to make their own decision re consent. I agree totally that we should be providing expert and balanced information to people (including minors) about medical procedures.

AM I now???

How can you say if x teenager receiving that jab is actually competent? Have the nurses done anything to check that out?
Why is it that the same teenagers aren't allowed to self medicated with paracetamol in the same settings (oe school) as it's deemed too dangerous? Why one rule in one case and not in the other?

I have no issue saying that teenagers should have full autonomy over their body. I have an issue with saying they should decide and go against their parents wishes for example or be bullied into it by nurses because they are 'deemed competent' when no checks have been done to see if they are and said parents/teenagers might have very good reasons to say no to the jab.
And being competent doesn't mean having 12yo so now they can decide (even though they can't decide a lot else). Being competent means having been through all the ins and outs with different people and different pov and taken and informed decision.
I would doubt that many 12yo actually ARE informed or have done some research or anything else.
It is not right that this is done in a setting where said teenagers will also have to deal with peers pressure (All my friends are having it done so I'm supposed to too) etc...

Ignoring all these issues isn't a good thing. Nor is it enough to say 'well some teenagres can take these deisions therefore well leave all of them doing so'.

Cactus I AM medically trained fwiw. But I am completely against this tit for tat attitude where if it's not someone's job then they don't have a clue.
Or if they don't hold a degree in xxx then again they are clueless.
This is an attitude that 've found again and again on threads of different subjects and tbh I really believe that said posters are missing the point.
One they might know just as well (eg their life experience might have taught them just as much on that particular subject) or they might come with very candid comments or questions that actually raised very valid points (Far from being unusual). Or they might need someone to explain to them something that they didn't know. Which really IF you are a professional, then you should be doing wo telling them they are stupid.

Your post suggested that the Hannah Jones case was different as she had access to lots of information and so she was able to make a decision as to whether to consent and so that information is the key.

I agree with this and, as your consent training will tell you, information is key for any consent not just minors.

I'm surprised that you think that there is more of an issue for minors gaining adequate information than adults. The group that most worry me re informed consent are older people who tend to agree saying they trust you rather than absorbing the information given.

I'm surprised at a medically trained person referring to a whole group of HCPs as bullying. As you know, there are people who do their job well and those who do it less well. I am yet to come across a whole section of HCPs who are bullying people into having procedures. I'm also surprised, given your training, at some of the statements you have made in a way which presents them as fact rather than your beliefs. I'm surprised that you aren't aware how nurses or other HCPs assess competence under the Fraser guidelines. I hope that you do get regular consent training at your place of work.

Regarding the medication in schools issue, many schools do assess minors as being able to carry their own medication.

How can someone who is medically trained not know anything about legal guidelines around consent? I am not medically trained at all but I know about Gillick competence.

Well, I have a St. John's ambulance first aid certificate. Perhaps that was what Kevin meant.

As Winston Churchill once said to George Washinghton, on the internet, you never know who is telling the truth.