A 17y/o with kidney disease, learning disability, autism and ADHD is at the centre of a court decision about a kidney transplant. Bonnie Venter (@TheOrganOgress) will be reporting from court over the next 4 days.
Tag Archives: Mental Capacity
A man with a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be conveyed to hospital against his wishes for assessment of his ulcerated legs
By Claire Martin[1], 24th February 2022 A man in his 40s, Mr M, has severely ulcerated legs and he is reported to be 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 supported livingContinue reading “A man with a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be conveyed to hospital against his wishes for assessment of his ulcerated legs”
Delay in finding a suitable placement for a young adult with Prader-Willi syndrome
By Aura Mackintosh Bamber, 22 February 2022 For any child’s family, a diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome brings with it a number of responsibilities and worries that are involved in properly caring for and managing this complex disorder. These worries are only exacerbated when a decision is made to deprive that child of their liberty inContinue reading “Delay in finding a suitable placement for a young adult with Prader-Willi syndrome”
Prader-Willi Syndrome and Transparency
A young man with Prader-Willi Syndrome was at the centre of a hearing before Theis J. I can only tell you this because journalist Brian Farmer and I made submissions to the judge saying that we should be allowed to report it and she eventually agreed.
No decision without representation
There was no legal representation for Mr M, nor was he in court himself. The judge said, right away, as soon as this became apparent: “I’m highly unlikely to do anything of substance today, without him being represented”.
Four commentaries on Re PH before Hayden J
especially psychiatric/psychological diagnosis. He ensures that the relational interplay between the health and social care organisations and each P is noted. This means that ‘behaviour’ is not located in P (or conversely only in the clinicians/teams/organisations) but in the relationship between them. Given the location of power in a patient-to-system dyad, I think this is vital in CoP cases. It conveys to each person at the centre of a case that they matter as a person in the CoP.
A home not a hospital: Service delivery goals for PH
reflect on how having some level of oversight from a professional who is somewhat independent, and who can initiate communication with separate bodies (i.e. care home management, local authority, health commissioning) can be pivotal in ‘making things happen’ for P, that wouldn’t have necessarily happened without such intervention.
A ‘secret’ hearing on life-sustaining treatment
The Health Board was seeking a declaration from the court either [1] that PH does have capacity to refuse nutrition and that his wishes not to continue to be fed should continue to be respected, even if this means his death; OR [2] that PH lacks capacity to refuse nutrition and that it is not in his best interests to attempt to feed him nutrition against his wishes and so he should be allowed to die.
Cross-examining a GP in a COVID-vaccination hearing
By Celia Kitzinger, 4th February 2022 Editorial note: The judgment is published here: A CCG v. DC & MC & AC [2022] EWCOP 2. The parents subsequently appealed the decision, and the appeal was heard by Hayden J MC & Anor v A CCG & Anor [2022] EWCOP 20. (See postscript to this blog forContinue reading “Cross-examining a GP in a COVID-vaccination hearing”
Capacity and elective caesarean
By Samantha Halliday, 26 January 2022 I have written extensively about court-authorised obstetric intervention[i] but I’ve always relied upon reported decisions. I am acutely aware that as Rosie Harding has commented: “When only the judgment is available for academic scrutiny, we cannot be clear as to the ways that the various submissions were framed”. That being the case,Continue reading “Capacity and elective caesarean”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 