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Fraser guidelines
The Fraser guidelines are the conditions under which a doctor can give contraceptive advice or treatment to someone under 16 without their parents knowing.
Summary
- Lord Fraser set them out in the 1985 Gillick case in the House of Lords.
- The young person must understand the advice and cannot be persuaded to tell their parents or to let the doctor tell them.
- They must be likely to have sex with or without contraception, their health must be likely to suffer without it, and the treatment must be in their best interests.
- They were written for contraception and are now used for other sexual health advice as well. Gillick competence is the wider test of whether a child can consent to any treatment.
Interview questions
- What are the Fraser guidelines?
- A 15 year old asks for the contraceptive pill and says her partner is 22. What concerns you?
- Why should a doctor encourage a young person to involve their parents?
Practise answering these with a mentor
Our interview preparation has you answer questions like these out loud, with feedback on each answer.
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More NHS hot topics, medical ethics case studies and medical school interview questions are in AlphaMED Resources, which we add to and update through the application cycle.