The NHS Foundation Trust v K & Ors [2023] EWCOP 57

Application by Trust for declarations about medical treatment

K suffers from an inherited condition which progressively destroys the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Since May 2023 K had been repeatedly admitted to hospital with respiratory problems requiring intubation and ventilation alongside repeated courses of antibiotics. The treating doctors think she is reaching the end of her life, and that it is in her best interests to receive palliative care. It was accepted that K lacked capacity.

After reviewing the relevant law, Mrs Justice Judd has to decide between two options advanced by the Trust - extubation or tracheostomy, which would require an operation. The family preferred the tracheostomy option, as this would prolong K’s life, but the judge concludes that would not be in her best interests as K’s condition had been deteriorating rapidly so ’any benefit from a longer life and/or interaction with her family following a tracheostomy are too poor to outweigh the significant burdens that this will entail.’

Read the judgment on the National Archive