An interesting, and very tragic, case.
This is Kasia Ber in 2005, aged 17.
One day, Kasia had had breathing problems and palpitations at school. One of the teachers took her to her GP. She had tests there over the next few days, but asked both the GP and her teachers not to tell her parents what had happened, in case they worried.
Two weeks later, Kasia died of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, often known as sudden cardiac death. It's thought that her mobile phone alarm caused a heart arrhythmia called Long QT Syndrome.
Kasia's parents have taken no action until now, waiting until her brother could finish at the same school. Now he's left, they're suing the school, claiming they should have been notified that Kasia had been unwell, even against her wishes.
The college (and the GP) were proceeding on the basis that Kasia had Gillick competence.
Victoria Gillick was an activist who ran a campaign against a policy allowing doctors to prescribe contraception to girls under sixteen without their parents' consent. In a court case she sought a declaration that such a policy would be illegal because it would amount to encouraging sex with a minor.
The House of Lords' decision focused on the issue of consent: Lord Scarman's test is generally considered to be the test of 'Gillick competency'. He required that a child could consent if they fully understood the medical treatment that is proposed:
As a matter of Law the parental right to determine whether or not their minor child below the age of sixteen will have medical treatment terminates if and when the child achieves sufficient understanding and intelligence to understand fully what is proposed.
Lord Scarman
Gillick competence is achieved by every child at a different age, and may be achieved at different ages for different issues. Kasia was 17 and studying for A-levels, so there has to be a pretty good chance that she understood the implications of her symptoms.
A very sad case. If Kasia had told her parents that she had been unwell at school, and about the tests her GP was doing, would she still be alive today?
I'm a lot older than Kasia. A lot older. And one thing I've learned is that parents generally know when there's something wrong, whether you tell them or not. They generally worry more when you try to keep things from them so you don't worry them...if you're with me!
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