Claim for a declaration under CPR Part 8 that it is not mandatory to bring before the Court the withdrawal of Clinically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration (‘CANH’) from a patient who has a prolonged disorder of consciousness in circumstances where the clinical team and the patient’s family are agreed that it is not in the patient’s best interests that he continues to receive that treatment, and that no civil or criminal liability will result if CANH is withdrawn.
Held: The declaration was granted, but the transfer to the Court of Protection refused. It was not established that there was any common law principle that all cases concerning the withdrawal of CANH from a person who lacks capacity had to be sanctioned by the court: ‘where the clinicians have followed the Mental Capacity Act and good medical practice, there is no dispute with the family of the person who lacks capacity or others interested in his welfare, and no other doubts or concerns have been identified, there is no requirement to bring the matter before the court.’ Such was the situation in Mr Y’s case, she considered, and accordingly she granted the following declaration: ‘It is not mandatory to bring before the court the withdrawal of CANH from Mr Y who has a prolonged disorder of consciousness in circumstances where the clinical team and Mr Y’s family are agreed that it is not in his best interests that he continues to receive that treatment.’
O’Farrell J
[2017] EWHC 2866 (QB), [2017] 4 WLR 222, [2017] WLR(D) 771
Bailii, WLRD
Mental Capacity Act 2005, European Convention on Human Rights 2 6
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – An NHS Trust and Others v Y and Another SC 30-Jul-2018
The court was asked whether a court order must always be obtained before clinically assisted nutrition and hydration, which is keeping alive a person with a prolonged disorder of consciousness, can be withdrawn, or whether, in some circumstances, . .
At First Instance – An NHS Trust and Others v Y and Another SC 30-Jul-2018
The court was asked whether a court order must always be obtained before clinically assisted nutrition and hydration, which is keeping alive a person with a prolonged disorder of consciousness, can be withdrawn, or whether, in some circumstances, . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 01 September 2021; Ref: scu.601109 br>