Archie Battersbee is currently on life-support treatment at Royal London Hospital
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The family of a young boy currently on life support heard today that his brain was “badly damaged” and that it was “very likely” that he was brain-stem dead - with doctors saying he cannot breathe without a ventilator. Archie Battersbee, 12, suffered a brain damage injury following an incident at his home in Southend, Essex, on April 7, with doctors treating him saying that his life support treatment should end.
Archie’s parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, disagree and are arguing that their son should remain on a ventilator. Speaking today (Tuesday, June 7) at the Royal Courts of Justice, a specialist from Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel listed a series of concerns about Archie, including that he had not “made any effort to breathe” without support.
Barrister Fiona Paterson, who is leading Barts Health NHS Trust’s legal team, asked the specialist whether she believed Archie was brain-stem dead due to the nature of his current condition. She responded: “Yes, as a team it is our view that given the nature of the original injury, the fact that he needed cardiac support and resuscitation, given that the way he has behaved clinically fits with the picture of someone who has had no oxygen supply to the brain and brain swelling."
READ MORE: ‘We said goodbye to our baby - but when the ventilator was turned off he breathed on his own'
She added: “Given that he has EEG which showed no discernible brain activity, given that he has scans which show no blood supply to the brain and significant areas of tissue necrosis and more importantly how he has behaved clinically, having made no effort to breathe, no movement, no cough, no gag, fixed pupils, that we believe that he is very likely to be brain-stem dead.”
The youngster was first admitted to hospital after his mum found him unconscious with a ligature over his head. It is believed that he was taking part in a viral online challenge, and has not regained consciousness since.
Speaking at the Family Division of the High Court in London, the specialist said that despite Archie’s mum showing videos of the 12-year-old grasping her hand, the medical team had not witnessed this response. She said: “When I go in to see Archie, Mum has shown me the videos and myself and a doctor have attempted to reproduce that grip. We’ve never been able to reproduce it, I’ve also tried again on my own a number of times, what I’ve found is his hand is in quite a natural C shape position and if I put my fingers inside his fingers, I can feel a kind of friction as I remove my hand, but what I don’t feel is any grasp.”
She said that whilst Archie’s dad had noticed “white lines” on the monitor when he was patting his son’s chest, she said that this had only occurred during the physical contact as the monitor was “incredibly sensitive”. “The ventilator is so sensitive that even if you have a bit of water in the tubing, you may also get the white line, in this case there was no evidence that Archie had made any effort to breathe.”
The court also heard that yesterday (June 6), Archie’s blood pressure had fallen “significantly and suddenly”, and that two emergency buzzers were called by the nursing staff. As well as having “significant diarrhoea”, a similar incident had occurred last week where Archie had passed large amounts of water and had been placed on antibiotics due to a suspected infection.
Discussions today focused on the possible risks of continuing life support treatment for Archie, given his current condition. During yesterday’s hearing, another doctor told the High Court judge that his prognosis was “very grave” and that parts of his brain had died or were decaying.
“Any patient in intensive care and in particular with the problems Archie has, is incredibly vulnerable to infections,” the specialist today continued. “Because Archie has been treated with plastic devices and bacteria often attaches itself to plastic, there is always a risk with any of these devices. By these devices I mean the breathing tube, the central line that goes into the vein, the arterial line and the urine catheter.
“In addition he has additional risks and vulnerabilities because he does not have the ability to cough, to move, to clear secretions, to gag, so he is at a higher risk of infections.” She also explained that the brain stem was responsible for the functions that kept alive and was the “control centre” of the body.
Lawyers for Archie’s family argue that his heart is still beating and that there have been issues regarding whether the family’s views have been taken into consideration.
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot is overseeing a final hearing and is expected to give her judgement on Friday.
Do you have a court case you think we should be covering? Email holly.evans@reachplc.com
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