'There was no meeting': Archie Battersbee's mom slams hospital for detailing ‘choreographed execution’ in letter
The mother of Archie Battersbee has accused Barts Health NHS Trust of planning a “choreographed execution” of her son, who has been on life support since April. Hollie Dance said, “Absolutely none. I know they come across to the media as supportive and compassionate. It's very much the opposite. It's very misleading.”
She also claimed that she got the letter Saturday night, July 30, and “there was no meeting, sat down and broken to gently.” The comments from Hollie came as the 12-year-old boy’s family arrived for a High Court hearing on August 1, which will decide his fate. The hearing was reportedly scheduled after lawyers representing the government demanded one on Sunday night, July 31, following the United Nations’ involvement in the case.
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Hollie Dance's accusation, as reported by the Daily Mail, comes after the UN had reportedly urged Archie’s carers to not take him off the ventilator as “the case is under consideration by the committee. This request does not imply that any decision has been reached on the substance of the matter under consideration.”
Meanwhile, the Government letter, apparently tagged VERY URGENT and representing Health Secretary Steve Barclay, stated: “In the circumstances, we wish to draw the (UN) Committee's request for interim measures to the Court's attention for its urgent consideration... We request that this letter is placed before the out-of-hours judge immediately…”
As the Barts Health NHS Trust is still adamant on detaching Archie’s life support, his mother said, “This is a 12-year-old...this is a child. They say about Archie's best interests, I don't believe for one minute that Archie's best interests would be to put his parents through what we're being put through. Our little boy wouldn't like that.”
“I think that it needs overlooking, and I'm very grateful to the Health Secretary for doing what's he's done, very grateful. I just hope that it is overlooked within the court today. It's been very draining. Stress levels are through the roof. Very heart-breaking. It's been a very hard few months,” Hollie noted. The mother was also asked about how hopeful she’s about the August 1 court’s verdict and she remarked, “I don't know really. I guess because of all the court appearances and things that we've had now and it seems...everything, apart from obviously the appeal that we won, everything seems to go in the trust's favour. It's just left me feeling very anxious all weekend. I've carried a lot of anxiety here in my chest. It just feels awful.”
She added: “The anxiety of being told that Archie's life-support will be removed tomorrow at 2pm has been horrific. We are already broken and the not-knowing what was going to happen next is excruciating. We are relieved that the government has taken the UN's intervention seriously. This was not a 'request' but an interim measures injunction from the UN.”
In the letter, the hospital trust had reportedly informed Hollie and Archie’s father Paul Battersbee that the child’s “all fluid infusions, medications, including vasopressin will be stopped” at two o’clock in the afternoon on August 1. The note also said that a doctor will “assess Archie regularly to confirm that the heart has stopped beating,” and added that “we understand that any discussions around the withdrawal of Archie's treatment are very difficult and painful.However, we want to ensure that you and your family are involved as much as you wish to be.”
But the family slammed it in a statement, saying, “The Trust has been dragging us as a family through the courts at a breakneck speed from April 27 till the final decision of the Supreme Court this Thursday evening.”
They continued, “The Trust has never made any attempt to agree any sort of compromise with us on any matters great or small. For example this Friday, our lawyers received a letter from the Trust demanding that all videos of Archie and his medical equipment taken on the ward, which we believe is evidence of improvement in Archie's condition (such as his attempts to breathe independently) are immediately deleted; and threatened legal proceedings for an alleged breach of data protection.”
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“We as a family are very disappointed that the Trust's management has chosen to hide behind euphemisms and to mislead the public. It is hard to see any reason for that behaviour except knowing that what they are doing is cruel and wrong,” the family added.