Medical treatment for people with learning disabilities: Telling Robert Bourn’s story and the challenges of ‘transparency’

The initial response of his treating team, says his mother, was to say there were no treatment options.  Comfort measures only were proposed and a palliative care referral was made.

COVID-19 vaccination with sedation: Instructing an expert

By Anna (with Celia Kitzinger), 10th August 2022 This is one of a long series of hearings about COVID-19 vaccination in which family members argue against vaccinating P but the judge makes a decision to vaccinate.   This case (COP 12219141) is a bit different from the others because the judge already made a decision that itContinue reading “COVID-19 vaccination with sedation: Instructing an expert”

“She is religious and she is a fighter”: Three perspectives on best interests decision-making in the Court of Protection from ‘Compassion in Dying’

By Jemma Woodley, Zach Moss and Upeka de Silva, 23rd June 2022 Editorial Note: The judgment has now been published: Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust v C & Ors [2022] EWCOP 28 We are three people who work for Compassion in Dying, a national charity that supports people to make their own decisions about end-of-life care inContinue reading ““She is religious and she is a fighter”: Three perspectives on best interests decision-making in the Court of Protection from ‘Compassion in Dying’”

Happy Second Birthday to the Open Justice Court of Protection Project

By Celia Kitzinger, Gill Loomes-Quinn, Claire Martin and Kirsty Stuart, 15th June 2022 It’s two years ago today since two of us (Celia and Gill) launched the Open Justice Court of Protection Project, at the beginning of the pandemic. It was born of our passionate belief that “publicity is the very soul of justice” atContinue reading “Happy Second Birthday to the Open Justice Court of Protection Project”

Making Disabled Lives Visible – Reflections Two Years On

By Gill Loomes-Quinn, 13th June 2022 One of the many challenging aspects of being disabled in our society is the isolation that comes from those around you being ignorant of, and failing to comprehend, the ways in which living with impairment(s) in a disabling society impact the life of a disabled person. My own experiencesContinue reading “Making Disabled Lives Visible – Reflections Two Years On”

Treatment delay: “My son has got disabilities but that doesn’t mean he’s a nobody”

Research has painted a troubling picture of the quality of healthcare people with a learning disability have received (or not received) over the course of the pandemic, exacerbating already high levels of health inequalities

Challenges in observing a (remote) hearing at Swansea Civil Justice Centre: Capacity for contact and sexual relations

By Celia Kitzinger, 6th May 2022 I had no idea what this hearing would be about.  I picked it at random because I had an hour free at 10am on the morning of Friday 22nd April, and thought I could profitably use it to perform my civic duty of supporting open justice in the Court of Protection.   Here’sContinue reading “Challenges in observing a (remote) hearing at Swansea Civil Justice Centre: Capacity for contact and sexual relations”

Capacity to make a Lasting Power of Attorney

By Clare Fuller, 3rd May 2022 I wanted to observe this hearing because it was listed as being concerned with the validity of a Lasting Power of Attorney. Here’s how it appeared in the Court of Protection list for First Avenue House in London: Midday20thApril 2022 Deputy District Judge Kaufman 13628180 CC -v- The Public GuardianContinue reading “Capacity to make a Lasting Power of Attorney”

A long wait for medical recommendations – still in hospital after 18 days

Claire Martin, 24th March 2022 This is the third in a series of hearings concerning Mr M, a man with severely ulcerated legs who is declining, or avoiding, medical assessment. He has a long-standing diagnosis of schizophrenia and depression and is said to be addicted to Class A drugs (heroin and/or crack cocaine).  He lives in supportedContinue reading “A long wait for medical recommendations – still in hospital after 18 days”

Capacity to engage in sex: Putting the MCA’s foundational values to protect and empower to the test

By Samantha Williamson, 18th March 2022 Most of us couldn’t begin to imagine being told (as adults) that we are prohibited from spending private time with our chosen partner – and that we cannot be allowed to have sex with them. That’s been the case for 19-year-old T and her 25-year-old boyfriend since 19th November 2021.  Continue reading “Capacity to engage in sex: Putting the MCA’s foundational values to protect and empower to the test”