Working in the health service, I often hear families’ concerns or reasonable complaints framed as them being ‘anxious’ about their loved one’s care. I think it can be a manoeuvre to delegitimise their (often perfectly reasonable) concerns and belittle their status as a full participant. Conversely, I don’t hear the word ‘anxious’ being used about powerful professionals when they speak up or raise concerns.
Tag Archives: Human Rights
P has capacity to decide to leave hospital – but there’s nowhere for him to go: Untangling capacity, “being on a DOLS”, and the care plan
By Amanda Hill, 24th February 2025 P, the protected party in this case, is a young man in his twenties, with an acquired brain injury and a spinal injury that has caused paraplegia. He’s been in hospital since October 2024 but has been medically fit for discharge for some months. There’s an earlier blog post here: Detention in hospital, capacity and treatment:Continue reading “P has capacity to decide to leave hospital – but there’s nowhere for him to go: Untangling capacity, “being on a DOLS”, and the care plan”
Anorexic teenager in 10-day induced coma for re-feeding: What next?
Doctors gave her a general anaesthetic, ventilated and sedated her, and fitted her with an NG tube, believing this to be in her best interests. She did not consent to any of this – there was a view that she lacked capacity, but no formal capacity assessment was mentioned. And it’s not clear (said the Official Solicitor) “how aware [she] was of the proposed treatment plan before it was put into effect”.
A mother now free to tell her Court of Protection story
By Amanda Hill, with Heather Walton and Celia Kitzinger, 10th December 2024 Something significant happened in the Court of Protection on Wednesday 30th October 2024. Not within the grandeur of the Royal Courts of Justice with a blaze of media attention, but in a regional court: Bournemouth and Poole. The case (COP14106873) was listed the evening beforeContinue reading “A mother now free to tell her Court of Protection story”
Application to appeal against judgment authorising withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment: Re XY
By Jenny Kitzinger, 4th December 2024 The Court of Appeal hearing I observed on the 26th November 2024 concerned an application for permission to appeal a Court of Protection judgment. I’d watched the original Court of Protection hearing (COP 20002405) in early November and blogged about it (“Withdrawing life-sustaining treatment: Faith and Science”). The judgment, handed down on 11th November –Continue reading “Application to appeal against judgment authorising withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment: Re XY”
“Bureaucracy blots out the sun”: Telling Ella Lung’s story
Ella Lung, suffering from dementia, was deprived of her freedom in a care home for over two years. Her son, Richard, documented her distress and their experiences through fourteen journals. Despite bureaucratic delays and emotional turmoil, they spent precious time together before Ella’s death, raising awareness about the emotional costs of such state interventions.
A review of transparency and open justice in the Court of Protection
By Daniel Clark, 13th November 2024 Headlines in 2016 described the Court of Protection as a “most sinister” and “most secret” court. It ‘left a 94-year-old without savings or dignity’. Looking back from the perspective of 2024 at the early years of the Court of Protection (since its modern incarnation in 2007), it is clearContinue reading “A review of transparency and open justice in the Court of Protection”
Cross-jurisdictional challenges and Schedule 3 in a case of anorexia: Health Service Executive of Ireland v SM [2024] EWCOP 60
By Sydney White, 11th November 2024 This case (COP 13398706) concerns a young woman (SM) with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and a history of depressive episodes. She’s “habitually resident” in Ireland but has for some time been receiving treatment at Ellern Mede, a specialist eating disorder provider in England. Hayden J has heard this case beforeContinue reading “Cross-jurisdictional challenges and Schedule 3 in a case of anorexia: Health Service Executive of Ireland v SM [2024] EWCOP 60”
Tony Hickmott: Not the happy ending everyone had hoped for
By Amanda Hill and Lucy Series, 24th October 2024 Hopes were high back in 2022. Tony Hickmott[1] who had spent 21 years in a secure Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU), was finally moving back to his home town of Brighton, close to his parents, Pam and Roy. This was seen as a new beginning for Tony, who hasContinue reading “Tony Hickmott: Not the happy ending everyone had hoped for”
A is back home and taking her medication voluntarily: The final hearing in Re A (Covert Medication: Closed Proceedings)
By Claire Martin, 23rd October 2024 Editorial note: Another observer (Meg Niven Withers, a social worker) also watched this same hearing and has blogged separately here: Moving forward in Re A (Covert Medication: Closed Proceedings): A social work perspective The case (Re: A) has been in the Court of Protection since 2018 and we’ve been following itContinue reading “A is back home and taking her medication voluntarily: The final hearing in Re A (Covert Medication: Closed Proceedings)”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 