Families to fight end-of-life gagging orders in Supreme Court

Two families in end-of-life cases are set to battle in the Supreme Court against gagging orders which they say prevent them from holding doctors to account.

The parents of Zainab Abbasi and Isaiah Haastrup were banned from naming the medics treating their children after they became the centre of life support treatment disputes in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

Last year, both families won an appeal court battle which lifted the restrictions, allowing them to tell the story of how their children were treated before their life support was withdrawn and they passed away.

But that decision was put on hold as on Monday the two NHS Hospital trusts involved are taking the case to the Supreme Court in an attempt to preserve the anonymity of their staff.

Whilst reporting restrictions normally end when a child dies, the orders made in both cases and a number of other end-of-life battles remain in place forever in order to protect the NHS staff.

‘We were rendered powerless’

Zainab, who was born with a “rare and profoundly disabling” inherited neurodegenerative condition, died aged six at Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital in September 2019 after doctors asked a judge to allow them to withdraw life-sustaining treatment against her parents’ wishes.

Her parents Rashid and Aliya Abbasi, who are both doctors, have said that there was a “toxic environment” surrounding her medical care which even led to her father’s arrest at her bedside in intensive care.

They said: “Our family has suffered so much due to the actions of the hospital. As doctors ourselves we were aware of the medical gaslighting and the appalling mistreatment our daughter was subjected to but we were rendered powerless to take effective action by the injunctions the hospital obtained which served only to protect a toxic culture which puts doctors’ interests before those of their patients.

“The transparency which the Court of Appeal has endorsed will ensure proper accountability within the medical profession and help restore ethical standards and public trust in the NHS.”

They allege that they have been gagged from revealing the “inappropriate attitude” of medics, the “lies” told by some clinicians giving evidence and details of how a senior physician refused to meet with consultants employed by the family.

‘Justice for our son’

Isaiah Haastrup, who suffered severe brain injuries after being starved of oxygen during birth, died when he aged just 12 months in March 2018 after a judge gave King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust permission to just provide palliative care.

His father Lanre said: “We were very encouraged by the Court of Appeal ruling and had hoped that we would finally be able to receive justice for Isaiah, and to be able to tell his story.

“Through this case, we have always wanted to shine the light of truth on what happened to Isaiah to seek justice for him and ensure that in future other families will not have to suffer what we went through as his parents.”

Mr Haastrup says that the original gagging order prevents him from revealing details of negligence during his son’s birth, of the “financial motivation for taking the end of life route” and the circumstance of his last day alive.

According to the Court of Appeal the “essential case” of both NHS trusts “is that if the parents of Zainab or Isaiah name any of the relevant staff, that might precipitate a groundswell of online harassment from interested third parties which could spill over into physical confrontation or even danger”.

But the judges found that there were no ongoing issues at either hospital related to the cases, and concluded that the risk to their privacy was “low”.

‘An incredibly difficult time’

The court ruled in March last year that the risk to privacy was outweighed by the parents’ rights to freedom of speech in being able to tell their story.

Monday’s Supreme Court case, in which the families are supported by Christian Concern and the Free Speech Union, could have widespread implications for reporting on cases in the family courts.

A spokesman for Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘We understand this has been an incredibly difficult time for the family and we extend our condolences to them.

“Our priority is always to act in the best interests of our patients, and the entire clinical team involved in Zainab’s care did their best to support her and her family.

“It’s important to emphasise that there have been no findings of fault against any member of staff involved. As an employer, we have a duty to protect the wellbeing and safety of our clinical teams who work tirelessly to support their patients.’

King’s College Hospital Trust could not be reached for comment. The Trust has previously settled a medical negligence claim and apologised to the family for events surrounding Isaiah’s birth, saying that “a number of improvements have been made in our maternity service” since then.