Archie Battersbee's Mum Says Hospital Has Refused Request For Archie To Be Moved To Hospice
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Archie Battersbee's mum Hollie Dance has claimed the hospital where the 12-year-old had been receiving treatment refused a request for him to be moved to hospice care.
On Tuesday (2 August) Ms Dance revealed that her son's life support was set to be turned off today at 11.00am after attempting to overturn the High Court's ruling that further treatment would be futile.
Ms Dance and Archie’s dad Paul Battersbee then submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights in a bid to postpone the withdrawal of his life support.
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The lawyers representing Archie’s parents were given a deadline of 9am on Wednesday to submit the application to secure more time for their son.
“We are very relieved. We are having to battle every decision with the hospital,” Ms Dance said.
“We now hope and pray that the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights) will look favourably on the application. We will not give up on Archie until the end.”
Archie, who has not woken up from a coma after he was discovered unconscious by his mum in their home in Southend, Essex, in April is currently at Barts Health NHS Trust in Whitechapel, east London.
It is believed that Archie was taking part in an online challenge when he was injured.
On Wednesday, Ms Dance said a request has been made for Archie to go to a hospice in a ‘worst case scenario’. However the heartbroken mum said that the hospital has ‘brutally’ said no.
She said: “The courts are going on and really focusing in on the word dignity.
“What is dignified in dying in a busy hospital room full of noise with the door open, people coming in and out continuously, when Archie could be in a very peaceful garden with squirrels and wildlife running around to have his life support withdrawn there.”
However, Ms Dance said that hospice care is the ‘worst case scenario’, and reiterated that there are other countries 'that want to take Archie and they want to treat him’. One of the countries is believed to be Japan.
Since arriving at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, he has relied on medical ventilation. A High Court judge ruled last month he should be allowed to die.
Archie’s mum and dad Paul Battersbee have continued to fight the ruling, arguing that it breaches Articles 10 and 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, as well as Article 6 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.
Sir Andrew McFarlane, sitting with two other judges, explained the court's decision as he said: “Every day that [Archie] continues to be given life-sustaining treatment is against his best interests.
"I concluded that there should be no stay other than a short stay for the parents to take stock and consider whether they want to make any further application to the supreme court.”
Last month, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot ruled that Archie 'died at noon on May 31st 2022, which was shortly after the MRI scans taken that day'.
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