Author: Imogen Hildred

Update to main text para 13.1, page 376: Introduction There have been significant developments in this area in recent months. The most important is Briggs: a policeman and Gulf War veteran, injured in a traffic accident, remained in a minimally conscious state; his wife brought an application seeking withdrawal of clinically assisted artificial nutrition and hydration. […]

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Update to para 6.1, page 174: General R (ota Ferreira) v HM Senior Coroner for Inner South London [2017] EWCA Civ 31 addresses the tangled issue of what actually constitutes a deprivation of liberty. It is a further retreat by the judiciary from the far-reaching implications of Cheshire West. […]

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Update to main text para 1.25 fn3, page 18:  For guidance on consent see the Royal College of Surgeons’ Consent: Supported Decision-Making – a good practice guide: which notes: ‘The surgeon discussing treatment with the patient should be suitably trained and qualified to provide the treatment in question and have sufficient knowledge of the associated […]

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Update to main text para 13.13¸ page 406 In his Oxford speech[1], Baker J contrasted diagnosis of brainstem activity, which can be done with neurological testing, with the extreme difficulty of diagnosing a patient’s level of consciousness, commenting: ‘The principal potential weakness is that there are no definitive criteria of awareness so that such assessments […]

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Update to main text para 13.10, page 397 There has been some debate[1] as to the position where the provision of clinically assisted artificial nutrition and hydration is clearly covered by a valid and applicable advance decision to refuse treatment or has been properly delegated by a Lasting Power of Attorney[2]. […]

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