Diarrhoea and vomiting caused by gastroenteritis in under 5s: diagnosis and management

Your child's care

Your child's treatment and care should take into account the needs and preferences of your child and your family. You have the right to be fully informed and to make decisions in partnership with your child's healthcare team. To help with this, your child's healthcare team should give you (and, if appropriate, your child) information you can understand and that is relevant to you and your child's circumstances. All healthcare professionals should treat you and your child with respect, sensitivity and understanding, and explain diarrhoea and vomiting and its management simply and clearly.

The information you get from your child's healthcare team should include details of the possible benefits and risks of particular treatments. You and your child can ask any questions you want to and you can always change your mind as your child's treatment progresses or your child's condition or your own circumstances change. Your own preference for a particular treatment is important and your healthcare team should support your choice of treatment wherever possible.

In an emergency, if the person with parental responsibility for a child can't be contacted, healthcare professionals may decide to provide treatment that is immediately necessary in the best interests of the child.

Your child's treatment and care, and the information you are given about it, should take account of any religious, ethnic or cultural needs you may have. It should also take into account any additional factors, such as physical or learning disabilities, sight or hearing problems, or difficulties with reading or speaking English. Your child's healthcare team should be able to arrange an interpreter or an advocate (someone who supports you in putting across your views) if needed.

Healthcare professionals should follow the Department of Health's advice on consent (www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-guide-to-consent-for-examination-or-treatment-second-edition) and the code of practice for the Mental Capacity Act. Information about the Act and consent issues is available from www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/moneyandlegal/legal. In Wales healthcare professionals should follow advice on consent from the Welsh Government (www.wales.nhs.uk/consent).