Courts, rights and the critically brain-injured patient-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Courts, rights and the critically brain-injured patient

Published:2024-02-12 Issue:7 Volume:50 Page:496-497
ISSN:0306-6800
Container-title:Journal of Medical Ethics
language:en
Short-container-title:J Med Ethics

Author:

Lyons Barry^ORCID,Donnelly Mary^ORCID

Abstract

The reality of current clinical practice in the UK is that where a patient’s family refuses to agree to testing for brain stem death (BD), such cases will ultimately end up in court. This situation is true of both adults and children and reinforced by recent legal cases. While recourse to the courts might be regrettable in such tragic cases, if public trust in the medical diagnosis of BD is to be maintained all aspects of the process must be conducted in a way that is transparent and open to scrutiny. This is not an ‘ineffective expenditure’ of resources, but an essential element of a human rights-compliant legal system.

Publisher

BMJ

Reference10 articles.

1. No consent for brain death testing

2. A different kind of death? Barts NHS Trust v Dance and Battersbee;Lyons;Medical Law International,2023

3. See Manchester University NHS foundation trust V Midrar Namiq and others [2020] EWHC 180 (fam); re M (declaration of death of child) [2020] EWCA Civ 164; dance &Amp;Amp;Amp; ORS V Barts health NHS trust (re Archie Battersbee) [2022] EWHC 1165 (fam); dance &Amp;Amp;Amp; ORS V Barts health NHS trust (re Archie Battersbee) [2022] EWHC 1435 (fam); dance &Amp;Amp;Amp; ORS V Barts health NHS trust (re Archie Battersbee) [2022] EWFC 80; Barts health NHS trust V dance and Battersbee [2022] EWCA Civ 935; dance &Amp;Amp;Amp; ORS V Barts health NHS trust (re Archie Battersbee) [2022] EWCA Civ 1055;

4. Re M (declaration of death of child) [2020] EWCA Civ 164, at [108];

5. Following the unilateral actions of clinicians aimed at withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from David Glass against the wishes of the his mother, a fracas broke out between relatives and clinical staff resulting in injuries (one doctor had an arm fractured), and an ICU that had to be evacuated of all patients except David: Glass v United Kingdom [2004] ECHR 103..