skip to main content

Gillick Competence Confidentiality — MFDS Part 1 MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

ModerateEthics & ProfessionalismGillick Competence ConfidentialityMFDS Part 1

A 15-year-old patient in England attends alone for routine restorative dental treatment. They demonstrate sufficient maturity and understanding of the proposed treatment, its risks, benefits and alternatives, and ask that their parents are not informed. There are no safeguarding concerns or other grounds requiring disclosure. Which legal principle most directly supports accepting the patient's consent and respecting their confidentiality?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: B — Gillick competence

The correct answer is **A, Gillick competence**. In England, a patient under 16 may give valid consent to a particular treatment when they have sufficient maturity and intelligence to understand its nature, implications, risks and alternatives. A Gillick-competent patient's request for confidentiality should ordinarily be respected. Confidentiality is not absolute: disclosure may be required where there is a risk of significant harm, a safeguarding concern, a statutory duty or another exceptional justification. The Data Protection Act governs information processing but does not itself establish competence to consent. The Children Act does not automatically require parental disclosure, and parental responsibility does not invariably override confidentiality. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 generally governs capacity decisions from age 16 rather than Gillick competence in under-16s.

Reference: Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Giving consent, sections 'Younger children' and 'The Gillick Competence Test', last reviewed 4 July 2023. https://www.alderhey.nhs.uk/visiting/inpatient-2/consent/