A father who is fighting to keep doctors from withdrawing life support treatment for his brain-damaged 11-month-old boy held back tears in court as he criticised hospital staff.
Specialists at King’s College hospital in London want to stop life support treatment for Isaiah Haastrup, who was left profoundly brain damaged after complications during birth. They say this would be in Isaiah’s best interests as the infant cannot move or breathe without assistance, is connected to a ventilation machine, may be experiencing pain and demonstrates no “purposeful” responses.
Isaiah’s mother, Takesha Thomas, and his father, Lanre Haastrup, have told the family division of London’s high court they want treatment to continue in the hope that they can eventually care for their son at home.
Representing himself, Haastrup, a lawyer, outlined a series of complaints about the hospital to Mr Justice MacDonald, saying the hospital trust had harmed Isaiah at birth and a negligence case was under way.
“I have been treated really badly by the applicant,” Haastrup said. “This is a case involving a child that the applicant harmed at birth.”
He added: “There have been failings. But for them, Isaiah would be at home having a lovely meal with me, with his lovely mum, playing around.”
Haastrup said “everything about this case” was “about full control for the applicant”, as he accused doctors of not taking account of his views or those of Isaiah’s mother.
“The response we get is: ‘You don’t have a say. We are doctors. We do what we like,’” he said. “We are faced with: ‘Get out of our faces. We are doing what we want. We are not interested.’”
Haastrup said that at one stage he was banned from visiting the hospital and was allowed to see Isaiah “only for a few hours at night”.
He told the judge: “If you do decline this application, [Isaiah] would have the best parents, would have the best love, would have the best care.”
The trust has argued that providing further intensive care treatment is futile and not in Isaiah’s best interests. Mr Justice MacDonald is expected to announce his ruling next week.
