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The Court of Appeal has ruled that a hospital illegally withdrew life-sustaining treatment from a 68-year-old man.
The man had treatment withdrawn on 11 February, despite objections from his family. The man died just over two weeks later, just a few hours before a judge was due to make a decision on whether to reinstate the treatment.
Initially admitted to hospital on 7 April last year with a stroke, he had required dialysis twice a week due to a kidney failure caused by pre-existing diabetes.
According to his family, he showed signs of consciousness, such as squeezing his wife’s hand and following people around the room with his eyes and blinking upon request. The family allege that the hospital banned filming in the ICU after they took video recordings of such actions to show to doctors.
Following his death, the Court of Appeal ruled that the withdrawal or refusal of life-sustaining treatment can only proceed with prior court approval.
Lord Justice Baker said, “The hospital cannot pre-empt court proceedings by unilaterally withholding or withdrawing treatment on ‘clinical” grounds’…The course taken by the Trust in this case was contrary to established principle and practice articulated in the case law, the Code of Practice, and guidance.”
The court’s judgment states, “Any decision about the care and treatment of a mentally incapacitated adult, including the withdrawal of life‑sustaining treatment, must be taken in the patient’s best interests. There is no carve out for ‘clinical decisions’.”
The man’s daughter said, “It was a profound shock for the family to see the NHS’s so-called end-of-life care in action. My father used to tell me that doctors don’t care about you and you should not trust them, and at the time, I disagreed with him and thought he was being dramatic. The events which led to his death make me understand what he meant.”
She added, “Three very senior judges have given a well-reasoned judgment which means that the NHS unlawfully deprived my father or his right to live. What the family would like to know is whether anything will now be done to ensure this does not happen again.
“It is too late now to save my father’s life, but the system which took it away should be held accountable for that, for the sake of other people’s fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, husbands, wives and children, whose lives still depend on it.”
The family was supported by the Christian Legal Centre, which said that a public inquiry into the medical and legal aspects of end-of-life care is “long overdue”.
