Parents, guardians and young people

Parents and guardians commonly contact GP practices on behalf of children. As children mature, issues of consent and confidentiality become more prominent and require careful handling.

Frontline staff are not expected to make complex legal decisions alone. Your role is to identify routine requests that can be dealt with directly, and to escalate requests that involve sensitive information, safeguarding concerns, conflict or uncertainty.

Routine support may include

• Booking appointments for younger children.
• Helping with prescriptions where the parent or guardian is known and authority is clear.
• Managing immunisation or review appointments through usual practice routes.
• Providing practical access support such as transport, reminders or contact details.

Escalate when the request is sensitive

• Sexual health, contraception or pregnancy
• Mental health, self-harm or suicide risk
• Safeguarding, domestic abuse or family conflict
• Requests from parents for an older young person's record or appointment details
• Any sign that the young person is afraid of information being shared

Young people may need safe contact

A young person may ask the practice not to contact a parent, not to send letters home, or not to disclose an appointment. Such requests should be passed to the relevant clinician or safeguarding lead for a decision.

Sensitive requests

Parent or guardian involvement is important, but young people's confidentiality still needs careful handling.