Parental Responsibility and Child Health
Having your name on the birth certificate is really important! This means that you already HAVE THE RIGHT to be involved in medical matters and choices regarding education. Its as plain and simple as that!
YES! Thats Right! WITHOUT A COURT ORDER! Imagine how the following scenario makes sense. You are having your child over for the weekend and they need to go to A and E. The doctors recommend a care plan and on admission the receptionist asked you if you have PR. Thats all that is needed, and your child gets treated. They did not ask you to contact the “main parent” and ask them to consent, did they? They did not ask you to provide proof of the PR when you booked your child in.
Unless there’s a specific order from the court that says you CAN’T be involved in the health issues of our child then you do not need permission of the other parent. NHS professionals only need the consent of one parent for a medical issue. They do not like dealing with parents who disagree and will often try to gain consent from both parents IF THEY ARE BOTH INVOLVED.
“I always used to be more involved….I saw her being born, I took her for her injections and she had her development checks…..now I am only updates through Mum….”
So amongst other things, in practical terms, having Parental Responsibility allows you to:
- Consent for a medical operation or obtain certain medical treatment.
- Access to the medical records too.
“I hadnt even realised I had that right….I really do want to be involved….I dont like the fact my child is having problems and I want to chase it up and get him seen quicker”
I am having many conversations with fathers at the moment who have assumed they lost their right to know about their children’s medical issues and stay involved because the relationship has split. This simply isn’t true – being involved and included is vital. Its on YOU to ensure you stay involved despite how difficult it may seem at times. There’s been a huge increase in the parental concerns regarding children’s health as lockdown created huge delays. A parent reporting a speech delay is a typical example. Its not just the mothers who may be informing you rather than consulting with you.GP surgeries may also give you the “run around ” too. Here at Family Law Assistance, we are able to help you write a letter to the GP surgery to help you with that.
“Actually Im really worried that my ex will find out where we are and I dont want that!”
There are some instances where an abusive partner may contact a GP surgery. This may be a way to ascertain the new address details of the family and continue to harass them. In those circumstances, the surgery may very well delay sharing information until the safeguarding concern has been dealt with. A child with disability, and /or a child under 1 years of age is considered more vulnerable than a sibling who is older or has no disability. Especially where domestic abuse is occurring.
