The Weekly Law Reports
[2022] 4 WLR 83
Court of Appeal
Barts Health NHS Trust v Dance and others
[2022] EWCA Civ 935
2022 June 29; July 6
Sir Geoffrey Vos MR, Sir Andrew McFarlane P, King LJ
Children— Court’s inherent jurisdiction— Medical treatment— Child suffering from unsurvivable brain damage with treating hospital proposing to withdraw life support— Medical practitioners unable to conduct brain stem functioning test and therefore unable to diagnose death in accordance with code of practice— Hospital seeking declaration of death and declaration as to child’s best interests— Whether court of first instance wrong to make declaration of death absent medical diagnosis— Whether best interests test given due weight and attention— Whether appeal court to conduct bests interests test