A grieving father has accused a London hospital of rushing to kill his brain-damaged 11-month-old son by switching off life support before he has had the chance to appeal.
Lanre Haastrup said King’s College hospital intended to take his son, Isaiah, off a ventilator on Monday following a judge’s ruling last week that life-sustaining treatment can be withdrawn
Haastrup said his son was entitled to the right to seek permission to appeal against the ruling to the court of appeal. “Why are you in a rush to kill him? Wait. Once you kill him, that’s the end. You can’t bring him back,” he said.
Isaiah suffered catastrophic brain damage when he was deprived of oxygen at birth. Sitting in the family division of the high court, Mr Justice MacDonald ruled it was in the boy’s best interests for treatment to be withdrawn. He is in a low level of consciousness and unable to move or breathe independently.
His father and his mother, Takesha Thomas, wanted treatment to continue. They indicated that they wished to appeal.
The judge refused permission to appeal on the basis that there were not strong grounds for it nor a strong likelihood of success, but he ordered doctors to continue treatment until 2pm on Friday to allow Isaiah’s father to make an application directly to the court of appeal.
Haastrup, a lawyer, is representing himself. He said the family did not have legal aid and could not afford legal representation, and missed the 2pm deadline on Friday because he was ill with flu. He said he understood the law allowed him 14 days to lodge an appeal, which would not expire until 12 February.
He said he was drawing up a formal application for permission to submit his appeal this week, which can only be granted if there are errors in law or fact in the original judgment.
He received a letter from King’s College hospital NHS foundation trust on Friday afternoon informing him that as the deadline had expired, it was now lawful to withdraw Isaiah’s ventilation and provide him with palliative care only, and that treatment would be withdrawn on 5 February.
Haastrup made a telephone application to an appeal court judge for an extension to the stay on Saturday. After hearing details, Haastrup claimed the judge told him: “Go and grieve, go and grieve. Let him die.”
He said: “Forget me grieving. I’ve been grieving for the past 11 months, seeing my son in that state. Forget the grieving part. What we are dealing with here is the issue of the law, and the law says you have a right of appeal with 14 days.”
Isaiah had the right for the chance to seek permission to appeal even if the court of appeal ultimately refused the case, he said.
“What I am saying to them is hold off for a few days. Let’s find out what the court of appeal says. What is wrong with that? I don’t think the public will say it is wrong for that to happen,” he said.
A spokesman for the trust said: “This is an extremely difficult time for Isaiah’s parents but we cannot comment on Mr Haastrup’s appeal. That is a matter for Mr Haastrup. The decision handed down on Monday 29 January, following a three-day hearing, ruled that it was in Isaiah’s best interests to transfer him to palliative care.
“We are trying to engage with the family regarding Isaiah’s transfer and will continue to offer them our support.”
