By Sheila Mckenzie-
The mother of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee has spoken of her anxiety and heartbreak ahead of a last-minute hearing about whether life-support treatment should be withdrawn from her son just hours before it is due to end.
A virtual hearing due to take place at 11am, will consider a request from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) to keep Archie alive so it could consider his case. A legal stay on the termination of treatment at the Royal London hospital in Whitechapel, east London, has been extended to 1pm on Monday.
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Archie, who is at Royal London Hospital in east London, is due to have his life support stopped on Monday afternoon, after doctors said he is brain-stem dead and that it is in his best interest to stop treatment.
Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer for Barts Health, said the plan to withdraw medical treatment will proceed unless the court directs otherwise on Monday.
He said: “Our deepest sympathies are with Archie’s family at this difficult time.
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“We understand a court hearing will take place on Monday morning and we await the outcome. The plan to withdraw treatment will proceed unless the court directs otherwise.”
Earlier on Sunday evening, ministers asked the high court to “urgently consider” a request by the UN to stop life support treatment being ended for Archie. The letter, seen by PA Media, was written on behalf of Steve Barclay, the health secretary. It states that the CRPD has asked the UK government to refrain from withdrawing treatment until the case has been considered by the committee.
“In the circumstances, we wish to draw the [UN] committee’s request for interim measures to the court’s attention for its urgent consideration,” the letter said. It also requested the letter be “placed before the out-of-hours judge immediately” or before Mr Justice Hayden, who has previously considered the case.
Archie’s mother, Hollie Dance, said the family have had “no support whatsoever” from the trust, telling Sky News: “Absolutely none. I know they come across to the media as supportive and compassionate. It’s very much the opposite. It’s very misleading.
There was no meeting, sat down and broken to gently,” she said, adding that they were handed the letter and “just left to deal with our own feelings”.
She added: “It’s just caused so much stress. This could have been totally prevented and handled totally different to how it’s been handled. We shouldn’t have been dragged through the courts.”
Ms Dance said the last couple of months had been “an emotional rollercoaster”.
“It’s been very draining. Stress levels are through the roof. Very heart-breaking. It’s been a very hard few months.”
Looking ahead to Monday’s hearing, she said: “It’s just left me feeling very anxious all weekend. I’ve carried a lot of anxiety here in my chest. It just feels awful.”
Ms Dance said citizens should not have to go beyond the justice system for the “right thing” to be done.
She asked for the government to assess the judgement of the courts, and said she was grateful to the health secretary for his intervention.
The government asked judges to urgently consider a request from a United Nations committee to keep treating the 12-year-old while it examines the case.
The Court of Appeal hearing is scheduled for 11:00 BST – three hours before care is due to end at 14:00.
His mother said she wanted a “realistic time” for her child to recover.
Archie was found unconscious at home in Southend, Essex, on 7 April.
He has never regained consciousness and his mother Hollie Dance said she believed he might have been taking part in an online challenge.
Archie, who is at Royal London Hospital in east London, is due to have his life support stopped on Monday afternoon.
Doctors have said that he is brain-stem dead and that it is in his best interest to stop treatment.
There was no meeting, sat down and broken to gently,” she said, adding that they were handed the letter and “just left to deal with our own feelings”.
She added: “It’s just caused so much stress. This could have been totally prevented and handled totally different to how it’s been handled. We shouldn’t have been dragged through the courts.”
‘He is too good to give up on’ – Archie’s mum speaks out after appeal rejected
Ms Dance said the last couple of months had been “an emotional rollercoaster”.
“It’s been very draining. Stress levels are through the roof. Very heart-breaking. It’s been a very hard few months.”
Looking ahead to Monday’s hearing, she said: “It’s just left me feeling very anxious all weekend. I’ve carried a lot of anxiety here in my chest. It just feels awful.”
Ms Dance said citizens should not have to go beyond the justice system for the “right thing” to be done.
She asked for the government to assess the judgement of the courts, and said she was grateful to the health secretary for his intervention.
The Court of Appeal has granted a virtual hearing for 11am on Monday after the government asked it to “urgently consider” a request from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to continue his treatment so the committee can examine his case.
The youngster is due to have his life support at the Royal London Hospital in east London ended at 2pm on Monday, following a lengthy legal battle in which a High Court judge ruled this to be in his best interests.
The decision was later backed by the Court of Appeal and Archie’s family applied to the UN as a final attempt to prevent their son’s treatment from being stopped, with the committee contacting the government on Friday.
A legal “stay” to prevent treatment being ended has also been put in place until 1pm on Monday.
The Government’s legal advisers have asked an out-of-hours High Court judge to review the case of Archie Battersbie, after the UN committee on the rights of persons with disabilities asked for time to consider Archie’s case.
The Government letter, marked VERY URGENT and written on behalf of Health Secretary Steve Barclay, read: ‘In the circumstances, we wish to draw the (UN) Committee’s request for interim measures to the Court’s attention for its urgent consideration… We request that this letter is placed before the out-of-hours judge immediately…’
The move follows the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) issuing an interim measures injunction on Friday, July 29, to the UK government.
Despite the intervention, Barts Health NHS Trust, which is responsible for Archie’s care at the Royal London Hospital, said that it would carry on with plans to remove life-support on Monday.
A virtual Court of Appeal hearing will take place at 11am today in the long-running legal battle over whether to turn off life-support treatment for 12-year-old Archie.
The letter from the NHS Trust to Archie’s parents, shared with MailOnline with their permission
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The letter from the NHS Trust to Archie’s parents, shared with MailOnline with their permission
Archie, of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, suffered brain damage at home on April 7 and is in coma
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Archie, of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, suffered brain damage at home on April 7 and is in coma
Archie’s parents’ plea to stop his life support machine being turned off was rejected by court
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Archie’s parents’ plea to stop his life support machine being turned off was rejected by court
Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, had written to the family over the weekend to inform them they intended to end treatment at 2pm on Monday.
‘The anxiety of being told that Archie’s life-support will be removed tomorrow at 2pm has been horrific,’ his mother, Hollie Dance, said.
‘We are already broken and the not-knowing what was going to happen next is excruciating.
‘We are relieved that the government has taken the UN’s intervention seriously. This was not a ‘request’ but an interim measures injunction from the UN.’
This afternoon Archie’s family released a statement responding to comments in the media from the hospital Trust regarding withdrawal of life-support, which they have described as ‘misleading.’
Their family have been told by letter how the little boy will have his life support treatment removed tomorrow in a procedure they today branded ‘cruel and wrong’.
Barts Health NHS Trust said in the note to his parents Ms Dance and Paul Battersbee ‘all fluid infusions, medications, including vasopressin will be stopped’ at 2pm on August 1.
In one heartbreaking sentence it warns them only immediately family will be allowed into the room, meaning others will be banned.
And in another particularly insensitive part of the message the trust says a doctor will need to ‘assess Archie regularly to confirm that the heart has stopped beating’.
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