Lengthy fact finding judgment investigating allegations around the care of G. G is a 29 year old woman with a degenerative neurological condition. She had been cared for in a children's hospital for many years, where her parents had also taken up residence, but as her condition deteriorated she was moved to a care home with a plan for the move to be a stepping stone before going home to die. Her parents had opposed this move and complained about the care G was receiving, interfering with the staff caring for her. The ICB also made allegations against the parents including serious claims the parents had tampered with G's ventilation to discredit the care home.
In this extensive judgment, Hayden J comments that fact finding hearings at Tier 3 level are rare, as they usually delay the action needed, but in this case he was satisfied 'the gravity of the allegations here and the nature of the family’s responses has made such a hearing unavoidable' as they concern the central welfare issues as to where G will live and whether or to what extent it will be in her best interests further to promote her relationship with her family. He also comments on his use of evidence drawn from covert recordings made by the family and the sometimes antagonistic nature of Scott Schedules in this context before summarising his findings at [203] onwards. He ends the judgment with this lament: "the court itself has become a theatre of conflict. The family’s enthusiasm for litigation, as I find it to be, is a different facet of their behaviour within the care home and earlier in the hospital. It is disruptive, calculated to cause distress. It has, at times, degenerated into ‘lawfare’ and rather than promoting G’s welfare, the court process risks becoming inimical to it." Read the judgment on the National Archives Comments are closed.
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Case summaries on every Court of Protection case & other relevant decisions with links to the full judgment where available.
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