Confirmation of the High Court’s Power to Override a Child’s Treatment Decision: A NHS Trust v X (In the matter of X (A Child) (No 2)) [2021] EWHC 65 (Fam)

Cave, Emma

Abstract

X, who was nearly 16 at the time of the application, was ‘mature and wise beyond her years’. She has a serious medical condition, sickle cell syndrome, which can cause crises where urgent administration of blood products that are contrary to her religious beliefs is clinically indicated. On two previous occasions, urgent applications were made to the court and declarations permitted the administration of blood products. On the second of those occasions, before Sir James Munby, the evidence suggested that X was making a Gillick competent refusal of treatment. Sir James described that case as a ‘scramble to justice’ given the urgency of the application and the challenging nature of the arguments and opined that the best way forward was to consider the arguments at a hearing where sufficient time is available to reflect. That opportunity was presented in A NHS Trust v X.

Citation

Cave, E. (2021). Confirmation of the High Court’s Power to Override a Child’s Treatment Decision: A NHS Trust v X (In the matter of X (A Child) (No 2)) [2021] EWHC 65 (Fam). Medical Law Review, 29(3), 537-546. https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwab007

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Mar 15, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Jun 18, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 15, 2023
• Journal: Medical Law Review
• Print ISSN: 0967-0742
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-3790
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 537-546
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwab007
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1241214