What happened in this case strikes at the very heart of the work of the Open Justice Court of Protection Project. It’s very unfortunate that the manner in which this case became public knowledge was via a blog post based on a misapprehension of the facts – necessitating a Statement correcting those facts.
Tag Archives: Human Rights
Statement from the Open Justice Court of Protection Project concerning an inaccurate and misleading blog post
We will now investigate how it came about that an observer was admitted to a public hearing in which a salient (‘magnetic’) fact of the case was meticulously concealed (by order of the court), leading – surely inevitably – to inaccurate reporting.
Court-authorised caesarean section for a mother with sickle cell disease who wants her baby to “see her face first”
I was struck when RO said “I don’t want to kill my baby”. I was already feeling disappointed for RO throughout the hearing, but these words left me feeling extremely sad for her. Was she feeling like the clinicians involved in her care were viewing her as killing her baby?
Anorexia and refusing nutrition: An observer’s perspective on A Mental Health Trust v BG
By Charlotte Buck, 4th August 2022 This case concerned Anorexia and the refusal of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration (CANH) – another sad case brought before the Court of Protection for which the circumstances are all too familiar. I have always been interested in complex medical-ethical cases and, having volunteered on hospital wards for six weeks myself,Continue reading “Anorexia and refusing nutrition: An observer’s perspective on A Mental Health Trust v BG”
After more than 4 months in hospital (for “assessment”), there’s a new placement and a transition plan for Mr M
By Celia Kitzinger, 19th July 2022 This was a short hearing in a long-running case – and if things go according to plan, it will have been the final hearing. There were two hearings in February 2022, the second of which approved Mr M’s transfer to hospital for what was projected to be an overnight stay. At theContinue reading “After more than 4 months in hospital (for “assessment”), there’s a new placement and a transition plan for Mr M”
“Grave concerns”: Funding arrangements, capacity for sex, and a TZ-style care plan
By Celia Kitzinger, 13th July 2022 The protected party at the centre of this case (COP 13627568 before DJ Glassbrook sitting in Northampton on 8th July 2022[i]) was described as “ a 19-year-old lady with diagnoses including Mild Learning Disability. Mixed Disorders of Conduct and Emotion, and Reactive Attachment Disorder of childhood”. Introducing the hearing for the benefitContinue reading ““Grave concerns”: Funding arrangements, capacity for sex, and a TZ-style care plan”
Trial of living at home – successful so far
By Celia Kitzinger, 9th July 2022 A woman in her nineties who’s been “trapped [in a care home] by some Kafkaesque nightmare” for more than a year, has finally returned home. The judge has yet to determine whether it’s in her best interests to stay there: this is a “trial at home” to see how it worksContinue reading “Trial of living at home – successful so far”
‘Micro-management’ or appropriate case management by the court for a ‘dangerous young man’?
Framing the issues around ED being a ‘dangerous young man’ served no purpose here in my view, other than to cast him in a pejorative light. I can’t see much difference between this, and the (regular, in my experience) casting of all of someone’s actions and ‘behaviours’ being attributed to their ‘personality’ – usually in the context of the professional concerned looking for a way out of having to think more about how they might need to adapt in order to help.
“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’”
Resisting Care: An unsuccessful s.21A challenge from a ‘feisty’ 94-year-old
By Celia Kitzinger, 19 June 2022 It was a week after the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations (this becomes relevant later!) and District Judge Searl was making a decision about a 94-year-old woman (“Hattie”) who lives in a care home but wants to return to her own home. The law It was a challenge under s.21A ofContinue reading “Resisting Care: An unsuccessful s.21A challenge from a ‘feisty’ 94-year-old”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 