Archie's parents lose bid to challenge court ruling that denied move from hospital to hospice

Archie’s parents lose bid to challenge court ruling that denied move from hospital to hospice

Archie Battersbee’s parents have been refused permission to appeal against the High Court’s decision which denied them the right to have him moved from hospital to a hospice.

The family had applied to the Court of Appeal on Friday, challenging a ruling that blocked their plans to move him to a hospice before his life-sustaining treatment is withdrawn.

The Court of Appeal confirmed on Friday shortly after 6.30pm that permission to appeal had been refused.

His mother, Hollie Dance, had said she wanted her brain-damaged son to “spend his last moments” together with family privately, but the High Court ruled the move was not in Archie’s best interests, calling the risks “major and unpredictable”.

Archie’s parents had said they recognised the risks in relation to the transfer – with medical staff warning it could see Archie die in transit – but they argued to the court they were prepared to take them, in preference to remaining in hospital.

His parents have fought a long-running legal battle over the withdrawal of his treatment, which ultimately failed on Wednesday when the European Court of Human Rights refused to intervene.

Their focus then shifted to trying to get their son moved to a hospice, and the family are reportedly considering a second appeal to the ECHR over the move to the hospice.

The 12-year-old has been in a coma since he was found unconscious by his mother in April and is being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.

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