Cases
Notable cases include the following:
Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust v Q and others [2022] EWCOP 6: This case concerned a 50-year-old woman with bulimia nervosa leading to life-threatening hypokalaemia (low potassium levels). The Court considered the issues of whether she had capacity to litigate, whether she had capacity to refuse treatment for hypokalaemia, whether an advance decision which she had made was valid and (subject to other issues) whether it was in her best interests to receive treatment for hypokalaemia. Eloise acted for the Applicant.
Re WB [2022] 1 WLUK 89: A serious medical treatment case in which an NHS Trust was granted declarations that it was lawful and in the best interests of a critically unwell Covid-19 patient to receive intensive care treatment but not to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event of cardiac arrest in circumstances where his circumstances were assessed by the clinical team as futile. The Court held that undertaking CPR would compromise the patient’s fundamental dignity. Eloise acted for the NHS Trust.
Re JJ [ongoing]: A High Court case involving medical treatment and residence of a young man with diabetes and mental health difficulties who has a long history of declining treatment other than inhaled insulin. The case raised significant complexities and ethical issues: in particular, the question of whether JJ should be removed from the family home to receive medical assessment and treatment in hospital. Eloise acts for JJ’s father.
Re JK [2021] 12 WLUK 296: A serious medical treatment case in which an NHS Trust was granted a declaration that it was in JK’s best interests to undergo an elective caesarean section. JK herself had been diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome at birth, was a chronic user of alcohol and drugs and had cognitive ability assessed at between five and eleven years old. Eloise acted for the NHS Trust.
Re NH (20 December 2021): A application under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court concerning the provision of urgent medical treatment for a child with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Eloise acted for the NHS Trust.
Re MW (9 December 2021): A serious medical treatment case concerning the question of whether it was in the best interests of a patient in intensive care to have artificial nutrition reinstated in circumstances where a naso-gastric tube had been removed contrary to the wishes of relatives. Eloise acted for the NHS Trust in this sensitive and difficult case.
JB v Staffordshire County Council (6 November 2019). Eloise successfully represented Staffordshire County Council in a contested trial on the issue of whether a 100-year-old war veteran should remain in a nursing placement or return to his home. On the facts, the Court accepted that he would face greater restrictions at home than in the nursing placement.
Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust v JP before Francis J in the High Court (27 September 2017). Eloise successfully represented the NHS Trust in this medical treatment case involving the ethics of inserting a PEG/ RIG feeding tube in a patient with advanced dementia, in which Francis J made some widely publicised remarks about living wills. You can read more here and here.
London Borough of Southwark v LS and KS: this matter had a complex history through 2016 and 2017 in the High Court and in the Court of Protection. The key issue was whether a victim of suspected domestic violence with disputed capacity should be prevented from returning to the alleged perpetrator’s home in circumstances where the alleged perpetrator lacked capacity in respect of relevant matters. Eloise represented the Official Solicitor on behalf of the alleged perpetrator. The matter required careful and sensitive handling.
Media appearances and publications
In May 2022, Cambridge University Press published Lessons from Medico-Legal Cases in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, which Eloise co-edited together with Swati Jha, a leading urogynaecologist.
4 October 2019: appearance on BBC Radio 4 Today programme, debating “Charlie’s Law” with Baroness Finlay of Llandaff. You can listen here.
4 October 2019: appearance on BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine programme, discussing “Charlie’s Law”.
6 December 2017: appearance on BBC Breakfast, discussing living wills.
5 October 2017: Article in The Times: “Living Wills protect the most vulnerable”. You can read Eloise’s article here.