NHS Foundation Trust v QZ [2017] EWCOP 11

Application by NHS Trust for permission to undertake invasive, investigative procedures to diagnose whether the patient had cancer and, if necessary, urgent keyhole surgery on a patient who it was agreed lacked capacity.
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The patient was in her 60’s and suffers from chronic paranoid schizophrenia. Hayden J allowed the application, partly because the patient had shown resilience in the past, the mental distress caused would be transitory and the treatment, if required, had a good chance of success. Rejecting the evidence of one of the experts involved he concluded that her “premise of a shorter life of better quality as against a longer life of pain and distress is, with respect to her, too absolute”.

He also reminded himself at [28] that under the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, there is no constraint on the factors the court should take in to account when considering best interests.

Read the judgment on Bailii.