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What makes a good GP?: young people’s views and experiences
The people we spoke to had many positive examples of the qualities they felt make a good GP. Here are the most important ones. Good...
Appointments with the GP are confidential regardless of a person’s age. Doctors and nurses have very strict rules on confidentiality so that everything a patient tells them, their personal details and medical records are kept completely private. However, a GP might encourage a patient to tell others (like a parent) about the problem, or they can speak to them on the patient’s behalf if they’d prefer. This is because sometimes it’s important for those looking after a person to know what’s going on as they might be able to help or support them. The doctor might encourage a young person to tell their parent or guardian, but should respect a patient’s wishes if they don’t want to. If a patient is under 16 and doesn’t want to involve their parents, the doctor can treat them without telling their parents as long as the young person fully understands the choices they’re making. In exceptional cases, though, like when a health professional thinks a young person might be in serious danger, they may need to pass information to police or social services. Even then they must talk to the person first before they tell anyone else, unless that would put someone at risk of harm.
Auberon felt that GPs, receptionists and pharmacists all respected a patient’s confidentiality:
The people we spoke to had many positive examples of the qualities they felt make a good GP. Here are the most important ones. Good...
Everyone has rights when seeing the GP, which include confidentiality (privacy) and being seen on their own if they want.{media 66046}Young people's rights also include:...