An application by a medical Trust seeking a declaration that it would be in a patient's best interests not to undergo treatment but rather to be provided with palliative care only.
The patient, R, suffers from chronic paranoid schizophrenia and been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. It was uncontested that he lacks capacity to conduct the proceedings or to make medical decisions about the medical treatment for his brain tumour by reason of the disturbance in the function of his mind or brain. In this judgment, Baker J sets out the relevant principles from the MCA 2005 and the Code of Practice and, following the decision in Aintree, agrees to make the declaration as requested. Read the full judgment on Bailii. Hayden J heard the application for the continuation of a reporting restriction order (RRO) when M died following the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment by means of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration. The application was refused, the judge saying that "the balance here weighs more heavily in favour of freedom of expression".
S was found to be in a permanent vegetative state without any awareness of herself or the world around her.
This case came before Hayden J as a final hearing to determine what was in S’s best interests. The family were asking for a declaration that it was no longer in S’s best interests to continue to receive artificial nutrition and hydration, and that it was lawful and in her best interests for artificial nutrition and hydration to be withdrawn. After hearing from medical experts that S would be very unlikely to recover, Hayden J agreed to make the declarations sought by the family. This decision builds upon the previous decisions by Hayden J in N v N [2015] EWCOP 706 and Re O (Withdrawal of Medical Treatment) [2016] EWCOP 24. |
Case summaries on every Court of Protection case & other relevant decisions with links to the full judgment where available.
Support the Hub
This site is free to access but if you find it useful then please consider a contribution by way of support for our work. Click here to contribute. Sign up for our free email alertWe do not share your details with any third parties and you can unsubscribe at any time
More from Bath PublishingBrowseCategories
All
Archives
February 2024
|
This site is published by Bath Publishing Limited
www.bathpublishing.com Manage your email preferences Read the Bath Publishing Privacy Policy |