Government and opposition MPs this afternoon backed a bill moved by former Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia which enables doctors to see patients aged 16 and 17 even if they call without their parents' consent or knowledge. In such cases doctors will still be protected by professional secrecy.

The bill also enables the teenagers to request or refuse treatment if the medical practitioner decides that they have sufficient maturity and understanding to take such a decision.

Dr Farrugia stated that, whereas youths should have as much of a right as anyone else to the confidential provision of healthcare, the situation at present obliged medical practitioners to reveal information provided by patients in confidence if this information was requested of them by parents or guardians.

Situations also existed where adolescents would refrain from seeking the advice of their medical professional because they did not wish their parents to be informed, typically but not exclusively in the case of advice related to contraception or sexual health.

Dr Farrugia said indemnity insurance currently did not cover practitioners who treated or advised 16  or 17-year-olds who called without the consent of their parents.

Labour MP Deo Debattista, who co-sponsored the bill, observed that current laws prohibited medical practitioners from carrying out potentially urgent or obviously necessary procedures in the absence of the parent or guardian, such as taking X-rays like in the case of an under-18 football players taken to hospital after an injury in the pitch.

When one took into consideration the fact that youths are increasingly demonstrating an interest in their own healthcare, the law could potentially also lead to better prevention of such diseases as diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure, and certain types of cancer.

Opposition MP Michael Gonzi expressed concern, stating that, as a parent, he would want to be informed of the state of his child’s health. He also asked what the criteria for maturity would be – a concern echoed by all of the Opposition speakers.

Dr Gonzi questioned how a medical professional such as himself could be expected to evaluate a patient’s maturity in a 10-minute session. This led him to question whether the law was truly in the best interest of the youths it claimed to empower, or whether it was intended to safeguard the interests of medical professionals.

Dr Farrugia objected to this in strong terms.

Opposition MPs Claudette Buttigieg, David Agius and Clyde Puli all expressed that the Opposition was in favour of the Bill.

The bill was unanimously given a second reading. 

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