My father drove long - distance lorries and would never take a day off work for any reason whatsoever. So it was left to my mother to sort out all things medical. She never took up the option to attend any of my school medical exams...so I was always on my own for those.
However, she did accompany me to my Paediatric exams ( as they were initially at a big hospital in Nottingham, which was about 12 miles from where we lived). Sadly, she died of cancer when I was quite young. So...I was 8 the last time she was with me for an exam.
By age 9, I was allowed (although I had to take forns / documernts etc signed by my father ) to attend appointments by myself. Some were at a local clinic (5 minutes walk from my school ), but others were at Mansfield General Hospital (changed from Nottingham). This was a 20 minute bus ride (to be fair...the bus stop was only 2 mins walk from where I lived), followed by a 10 minute walk at the other end.
Looking back now...it was potentially quite daunting. But, I had to attend the appointments and there was simply no-one to take me. In the early to mid 1960s (UK) this was deemed to be perfectly acceptable. I have absolutely no doubt at all that it would simply not be allowed in 2018.
Different times, different social mores. For example, I belonged to the last generation of junior steam locomotive enthusiasts. By age 11, totally unsupervised...we would think nothing of cycling 9 or 10 miles to well-known 'loco spotting' trackside locations. Or, making our own way to a local railway station and heading off to the city of Sheffield (for example) and frequently wandering around Steam Locomotive Depots (sometimes being thrown out by irate railwaymen). Happy, innocent days!!!