Archie Battersbee's mum has written to the Health Secretary calling for a "public inquiry" and a "change of the law" following her son's death. Hollie Dance wants a meeting with Steve Barclay to discuss the implications of the case.
A judge based in the Family Division of the High Court in London ruled in July that doctors could lawfully stop providing life-support treatment for 12-year-old Archie, who suffered brain damage in an incident at home in Southend, Essex, in April. Archie died recently after his mother, and father Paul Battersbee, failed in bids to overturn Mr Justice Hayden’s ruling.
Ms Dance and Mr Battersbee, who are separated, are being supported by a campaign organisation called the Christian Legal Centre, where officials released Ms Dance’s letter to Mr Barclay on Friday. “I would like to meet with you … to discuss how we can work together to ensure that no other family has to go through this,” says Ms Dance in the letter.
“Archie’s case has had a lot of publicity, but I know that many similar cases are heard in the Family Division subject to severe reporting restrictions, and therefore away from public scrutiny. There should be a comprehensive public inquiry into the operation of this system; and then a change of the law to protect the grieving families from cruelty.”
Ms Dance had earlier said she felt “backed into a corner” by the legal system and said her family felt “stripped” of rights. Judges heard how Ms Dance found Archie unconscious with a ligature over his head on April 7.
She thinks he might have been taking part in an online challenge. Archie did not regain consciousness.
Doctors treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, thought that he was brain-stem dead and said continued life-support treatment was not in his best interests. Bosses at the hospital’s governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had asked for decisions on what medical moves were in Archie’s best interests.
A High Court judge, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, initially considered the case and concluded that Archie was dead. But Court of Appeal judges upheld a challenge by his parents against decisions taken by Mrs Justice Arbuthnot and said the evidence should be reviewed by a different High Court judge, Mr Justice Hayden.
He ruled that ending treatment would be in Archie’s best interests after a further hearing. Health department officials indicated that Ms Dance would get a response to her letter soon.
