title: Children and the accident and emergency department.
abstract: It is not unusual for children to come into the Accident and Emergency (A & E) department unaccompanied by their parents and alone or with other children. At the one extreme there might be a child who is bleeding from a cut which requires urgent stitching, at the other extreme, there may be a road traffic accident where the child is unconscious and no one initially knows his name or parents and address. What is the legal situation regarding the duty of the A & E staff? This article starts with the general principles relating to consent to treatment and then looks at specific situations relating to children.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Dimond
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002651:Child Advocacy; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016743:Mental Competency; D010290:Parents; D006113:United Kingdom