Archie Battersbee’s family have been given until 9am tomorrow to launch a legal bid to move him to a hospice – otherwise his life support will be turned off at 11am.
His parents lost their latest legal bid tonight to stop doctors ending life-sustaining treatment for their brain-damaged son after a European court said it “will not interfere” with the decisions of UK courts.
The boy’s family had applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to intervene as they fought to postpone treatment being switched off.
But the Strasbourg-based court said it would not interfere with previous rulings by “national courts”.
Now Barts Health NHS Trust has said the treatment will end at 11am tomorrow unless the family apply to the High Court by 9am to move him to a hospice.
It said: “Any application will be opposed on both a procedural basis and best interests basis.”
The trust added it “continues to put Archie’s welfare and best interests at the forefront of its decision making about his care. It believes that Archie’s condition is unstable and that transferring him even a short distance involves significant risk”.
But if an application is made, then treatment will continue while the legal appeal is heard.
