Supreme Court judgement "will benefit thousands of patients and families"

Doctors and families of patients in a vegetative or minimally conscious state no longer need to go to court to be allowed to remove life support - where a robust decision-making procedure has been followed and clinicians and the family are in agreement about what is in the best interests of the patient. A Cardiff University academic researching the treatment of patients with catastrophic brain injuries has welcomed the Supreme Court judgement which was handed down today (July 30). Professor Jenny Kitzinger hailed today's decision as a positive step forward in patient-centred care and helping to ensure people are not subjected to futile or unwanted treatment. The case involved anonymous patient Mr Y, who suffered severe brain damage following cardiac arrest in 2017, leaving him in a vegetative state. Two medical experts agreed that Mr Y was in a very low level of responsiveness with no awareness of himself or his environment, and that it was highly improbable that he would emerge into consciousness. The clinical team and Mr Y's family agreed that it would be in Mr Y's best interests for Clinically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration (CANH) to be withdrawn. But until recently, it was believed that an application had to be made to the Court of Protection before this could be done - even if families and doctors agreed it was in the best interests of the patient.