Balancing medical treatment decisions for children: In conversation with Professor Imogen Goold

Published 2024-07-04

In this long-form video interview, Rob Tobin, Head of UK Medical Law, speaks with Imogen Goold, Professor of Medical Law at the University of Oxford, about determining finely balanced medical treatment decisions in the absence of consensus between treating clinicians and those with parental responsibility.

Here, Rob and Imogen discuss how finely balanced medical treatment decisions are made and whether it is right that the court should have the final say where consensus cannot be reached as to what is in a child’s best interests. They also cover the charged topic of ‘parental rights’; whether they exist at all or whether they ought to be better characterised as ‘parental duties’.

The importance of a child’s wishes, values and feelings was discussed, in particular around religious observation and how difficult it can be to impose or to understand what a young child’s beliefs might be in the context of life or death decision-making against a backdrop of strongly held religious beliefs of that child’s parents. How the courts manage these challenging, and often highly charged issues dispassionately and fairly, was a compelling conversation.

Finally, Rob and Imogen touch upon the issue of health inequalities in the context of medical treatment decision cases, looking at the huge resources and scrutiny that is invested in certain instances into these decisions.

Topics:

1. Introduction – 00:00
2. Who should have the final say in a child’s medical treatment? – 01:36
3. The shift in decision making - 08:09
4. Outside influences – 11:11
5. Is there ever just one best interest decision? – 17:29
6. The influence of religious beliefs – 21:03
7. The challenges of working out what they would want – 29:10
8. The role of the courts and resourcing – 30:56
9. The availability of treatment on a global scale – 41:52
10. Knowing the “unknowable” – 46:47

Related content:
• YouTube: In conversation with Dr Kathryn Mannix: the art of communicating in challenging moments ( • In conversation with Dr Kathryn Manni... )
• YouTube: Medical law seminar: mental capacity ( • Medical law seminar: mental capacity )
• Web article: In conversation with Professor Imogen Goold (kennedyslaw.com/en/thought-leadership/article/2024…)

Imogen Goold:
• Twitter: twitter.com/imogengoold?lang=en
• Biography: www.law.ox.ac.uk/people/imogen-goold
• Parental Rights, Best Interests and Significant Harms: Medical Decision-Making on Behalf of Children Post-Great Ormond Street Hospital v Gard: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/parental-rights-best-interes…

Rob Tobin:
• Web profile - kennedyslaw.com/en/our-people/people/cambridge/rob…
• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tobin-64a50736
• Medical Law at Kennedys - kennedyslaw.com/en/our-expertise/services/insuranc…

Kennedys:
• Website - kennedyslaw.com/en