Consent for treatment

[coffeeeandtv]

Just a quick question that I would like opinions on mainly due to me being unaware of this..... basically my DB and SiL disagree on some Dental treatment for their 14 year old son and my SiL was told that as the mother her wishes are more important and so if she gives permission the treatment will go ahead, the mums wishes are the most important. There are no ulterior motives for asking this purely interest as I genuinely didn’t know this
If it’s at all important I agree with SiL but after I offered my opinion I’ve left them to make their decision.

If both parents have Parental Respobsibility then ultimately they would have to take the matter to court. That said if the 14 year old is considered competent to make an informed decision then they can consent or decline for themselves. Personally I'd be asking my 14 year old child what they want.

Gillick comptance. For most 14 years old it would be there own decision not their parents.

Who told your sil this? Is this person a lawyer or healthcare professional?

NHS Choices says that if one person with parental responsibility gives consent and another doesn't, the healthcare professionals can choose to accept the consent and perform the treatment in most cases.

Also, as pp said, children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they're believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what's involved in their treatment. This is known as being "Gillick competent".

Thank you all for your responses, you have reiterated everything I thought was true especially with the Gillick competence, their son is intelligent and understands the consequences of both having and not having the treatment. I did take at face value the information provided by my SiL who said that she was told this by the Dentist. I am close to my nephew, he will ask my opinion again and I will tell him that he has the right to choose then hopefully he will ‘bang their heads together’ and take charge of his future treatment.