Synopsis:

The child’s right to know is usually raised in discussions about whether a child should be given information about their medical condition – what it is, what treatment is proposed, what the outlook is long-term. The standard ethical position and usual clinical practice, is that children should receive developmentally appropriate information. Even on this matter, there are noticeable differences about what information is appropriate at what stage, and what counts as a sound reason to give that information. These difference often become apparent when parents request that some particular information not be disclosed to their child. This Grand Round will provide some general background about the ethics truth-telling to children, and then consider situations which are potentially even more complex – where the information at issue is not directly related to the child’s medical condition.  I will present and invite discussion of several cases (not from RCH), where the question is whether to disclose to the child information that is as much about the parent as the child, or about a medical error that has not had any direct impact on the child.

Speakers:

Professor Lynn Gillam is the Academic Director of the Children’s Bioethics Centre at RCH, and Professor of Health Ethics in the School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne.