Hospital broke law stopping dialysis treatment without court approval
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A hospital broke the law when it withdrew life-sustaining treatment from a 68-year-old man without court approval because of a dispute with his family, a British appeals court has ruled.
Inside a provision Published on March 3, Lord Justice Newey, Lady Justice Asplin and Lord Justice Baker said Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust acted unlawfully when it stopped providing dialysis to Robert Barnor on February 11, after describing the move as a “clinical decision”.
The court said that if there was a dispute about withdrawing life-sustaining treatment for a patient who lacks mental capacity, the matter should be decided by the Court of Protection under the UK’s Mental Capacity Act, the law governing decisions for adults who cannot make decisions for themselves.
“The hospital cannot avoid court proceedings by unilaterally withholding or withdrawing treatment on ‘clinical’ grounds,” Baker wrote. “The decision about whether to withdraw treatment should be a best interest decision.” He added: “There are no details for ‘clinical decisions’.”
Robert Barnor in a family photo. The British appeals court ruled that the hospital unlawfully withdrew the dialysis procedure due to a disagreement with his family. (Christian Law Center)
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Barnor died on February 27. The Court of Appeal gave his daughter Lesley Barnor Townsend permission to appeal the hospital’s decision and sent the case back to the Court of Protection (a specialist tribunal that deals with financial and healthcare decisions involving vulnerable people who may lack capacity) for an urgent hearing, but no decision determining best interests was made before his death.
Barnor had been hospitalized since last April after suffering a stroke and a series of other strokes that caused extensive and irreversible brain damage, according to the ruling. He never regained consciousness, although family members said they saw signs of reaction such as following people with his eyes, blinking on demand, responding to music and shaking his wife’s hand. He later developed severe acute kidney injury and required twice-weekly dialysis.
According to the decision, the foundation sought the opinion of three outside experts in late 2025 because doctors concluded that continuing dialysis was clinically inappropriate. The court said two of these reports could be described as second opinions, but Professor Lynne Turner-Stokes’ report was “not a traditional ‘second opinion'” because she did not examine Barnor.
Robert Barnor was in St. Louis when his dialysis was stopped due to a family dispute. He was in the intensive care unit of Helier Hospital. (iStock)
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The family was told that at the Feb. 6 meeting, clinicians had determined that Barnor was not suitable for long-term dialysis. In a letter dated February 11, the trust’s lawyers said it would no longer provide long-term dialysis services and argued the matter was a clinical decision that did not require prior approval from the Court of Protection.
Townsend then asked for permission to take the case to the Court of Protection. The application was rejected on February 17, but he filed an appeal on February 19. The Supreme Court heard the case on February 23, then allowed the application and remanded the matter for urgent hearing.
The appeals court emphasized that courts cannot force doctors to provide treatment they deem clinically inappropriate. But when a patient lacks mental capacity, he said, a dispute about withdrawing life-sustaining treatment should still be treated as a best interests matter under the Mental Capacity Act.
The NHS Trust disputed the family’s view that Barnor was sensitive and argued that it was not appropriate to continue dialysis. (iStock)
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A spokesperson for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust told Fox News Digital: “Our thoughts are with the family at this very difficult time.”
Townsend said in his statement: Christian Law Center He said he hoped the decision would help protect other families facing similar situations.
“It is too late to save my father’s life, but on behalf of the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and children of the other people whose lives still depend on him, the system that took him away must be held accountable,” she said.
Andrea Williams, general manager of the Christian Law Center, which supports the Barnor family’s legal struggle, said lessons should be learned from the case.
“A comprehensive public inquiry into the medical and legal aspects of end-of-life care in this country is long overdue,” Williams said. “The system urgently needs to be reformed to introduce robust protections for the sanctity of life, which remains a fundamental principle of the law.”
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