By Celia Kitzinger, 25 May 2023 The person at the centre of this case (CG) is in his fifties with end stage kidney disease. He’s been having kidney treatment since 2014 and dialysis since around 2016. In January 2022 he suffered a hypoglycaemic brain injury, likely precipitated by self-neglect and poor management of his diabetes. He’s currently in aContinue reading “‘Last chance saloon’: One more attempt at kidney dialysis or a move to palliative care?”
Tag Archives: Mental Capacity
New home for man who lives in bathroom
By Celia Kitzinger, 23 May 2023 In July 2022, the man at the centre of this case (I’ve referred to him before as “Brian”) “retreated” to the communal bathroom of the care home where he’s lived since 1993, and has, in effect, been there ever since. I wrote about him a few months ago: “Man lives forContinue reading “New home for man who lives in bathroom”
On not authorising restraint for bowel surgery
Physically restraining someone against their will to have general anaesthesia for a serious operation is something that most of us instinctively recoil from, and for good reason – namely, that it is the repression of an individual liberty and it is disrespectful to individual autonomy.
“A lively personality” in a complex medical case
It would be easy for the protected party at the centre of this case to ‘go missing’ amongst a sea of expert opinion. I was struck how diligently the judge (Hayden J) worked to ensure this did not happen. Indeed, this hearing was the first time I’ve seen a protected party ‘come alive’ in a hearing despite their absence in court.
The most complex of best interests: Organ donation, learning disability, and the options on the table
Ruby Reed-Berendt and Bonnie Venter, 12 May 2023 To our knowledge, the Court of Protection has only once before grappled with the issue of capacity and organ donation in the context of learning disability: when it considered the case of William Verden last year. You can read the judgment in that earlier judgment here: Manchester UniversityContinue reading “The most complex of best interests: Organ donation, learning disability, and the options on the table”
A family at breaking point
By Celia Kitzinger, 23rd April 2023 This was a distressing hearing to watch because as it unfolded it became increasing clear that the parents were at breaking point in trying to care for their disabled daughter. The Official Solicitor was clearly pushing for more support for the family from the local authority – who seem to haveContinue reading “A family at breaking point”
Opaque justice in the Court of Protection: A dispute about the validity of Lasting Power of Attorney
By Daniel Clark, 21st April 2023 At 2pm on Friday 14th April 2023, I observed a directions hearing (COP 13795316) via MS Teams before Deputy District Judge Chahal sitting at First Avenue House in London. I simply couldn’t follow it. Wittgenstein’s notion of language-games proposes that language only has meaning when applied in its context. In other words, it is action thatContinue reading “Opaque justice in the Court of Protection: A dispute about the validity of Lasting Power of Attorney”
Unplanned disclosure and (still) no agreed ‘exit plan’: Re A (Covert medication: Closed Proceedings) [2022] EWCOP 44 continues
The court is now in the unenviable position of trying to help the MDT extricate itself from the entirely untenable situation it’s in following the directions of HHJ Moir. I am left wondering how everyone thought this would be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. What ‘exit plan’ was envisaged at the point the judge set the wheels in motion for covert medication? Nobody can have imagined that A could be detained and covertly medicated for the next 30 years – but nobody seems to have planned for any alternative.
After the kidney transplant: The view from “Team William”
If I were presented with this situation again, I would most definitely do it all again in a heartbeat. William’s situation demonstrated to me that although there are risks to being placed in intensive care, it was absolutely the right decision for William.
Disadvantaged litigants in person and a long search for a placement
By Celia Kitzinger, 14th April 2023 This very short hearing (just half an hour) interested me for two reasons. First, it tells yet another story indicative of the horrendous pressures on social care in England, with suitable placements hard to come by. Second, it raised for me some worries about the way the judge treated the parents,Continue reading “Disadvantaged litigants in person and a long search for a placement”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 