D (Medical Treatment) [2017] EWCOP 15

​Application made by the Patient's mother for a declaration and order that it is in the Patient's best interests to receive stem cell treatment for his brain injury at a clinic in Belgrade in Serbia. Provisional consent was given although several further steps needed to be taken before the court gave its final approval.

The Patient was a Lance Corporal who was knocked unconscious in June 2013, while serving abroad, after being assaulted in a bar by another member of the regiment. He lacks capacity as a result of a traumatic brain injury. His mother was applying for a declaration and order that it is in his best interests to receive stem cell treatment for his brain injury at a clinic in Belgrade in Serbia. The application was opposed by the Official Solicitor, who has been appointed to act as the Patient's litigation friend in the proceedings, and by the MOD who are responsible for his care and treatment. 

The court approved the application with the proviso that further steps needed to be taken first, saying that it was almost certain that the Patient will be much more than miserable if he is denied the opportunity to have stem cell treatment. His reaction would not be confined to mere "disappointment" - it was highly likely that he would demonstrate an adverse reaction in his behaviour which may significantly impede and delay his rehabilitation.  

Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii