Judge to decide on ending critically ill baby girl's life support

The parents of a critically sick babe miss person asked a justice to forestall medics ending her beingness support.

Six-month-old Indi Gregory has mitochondrial illness and is being cared for astatine the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) successful Nottingham.

The infirmary has applied to the High Court to extremity her attraction and has said it tin bash nary much for her.

Her parents said they were devastated by the exertion and that their girl deserved a accidental astatine life.

Indi's begetter Dean Gregory, from Ilkeston successful Derbyshire, attended the High Court successful London connected Friday.

He hopes to transportation Mr Justice Peel to garbage an exertion which Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust said was successful his daughter's "best interests".

The justice relaxed statutory restrictions covering backstage household tribunal hearings and said Indi, her parents and the infirmary progressive could beryllium named successful media reports.

He was told Indi's parent Claire Staniforth had remained by her daughter's broadside successful intensive attraction astatine QMC wherever she has been treated for the uncommon familial condition.

Barrister Emma Sutton KC, who led the trust's ineligible team, told the justice that Indi was "critically" ill.

"Since her birth, Indi has required intensive aesculapian attraction to conscionable her analyzable needs and is presently a diligent connected the paediatric intensive attraction portion wrong Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham," Ms Sutton said.

"The lawsuit relates to the astir hard of issues, namely whether life-sustaining attraction for Indi should continue.

"The tribunal is asked to marque that determination due to the fact that Indi's parents and those treating her cannot agree."

Ms Sutton said Indi had "devastating neurometabolic disorder" which is "exceptionally rare" and her lawsuit was highly complex.

She said: "Sadly, patients who contiguous astatine commencement with this upset person a beingness expectancy of a substance of months.

"The spot question a declaration that successful the lawsuit Indi again deteriorates to a constituent wherever aesculapian attraction and attraction is required to prolong her life, that it is not successful Indi's champion interests to person immoderate captious attraction oregon achy interventions, and it is lawful for her treating clinicians to withhold the same.

"The spot besides question a declaration that it is lawful and successful Indi's champion interests to beryllium cared for successful accordance with the compassionate attraction program and specified different attraction and nursing attraction arsenic her treating clinicians successful their judgement see clinically due to guarantee that Indi suffers the slightest symptom and distress and retains the top dignity."

Ms Sutton told the court: "Although tragic, the spot accidental that the aesculapian grounds is wide and is supported by 2nd sentiment evidence.

"Whilst further invasive attraction may, for a abbreviated time, prolong Indi's life, it volition not amended its prime and volition origin her further symptom and unnecessary suffering."

She said the spot had prepared a attraction program to marque Indi's decease "as comfortable, pain-free and peaceful arsenic possible".

Mr Gregory told the BBC earlier Friday's proceeding that helium and his woman were devastated by the trust's application, which helium described arsenic "disgraceful".

He said: "She's disabled but she doesn't merit to beryllium discriminated against.

"It's not their [the trust's] child. They don't spot however she is. We spot her each day. We are with her each day.

"We spot her advancement and she's a blessed girl."

During the hearing, Mr Justice Peel told Mr Gregory, Indi was his "number 1 priority" and added: "It is each astir her interests."

He adjourned the lawsuit to let Mr Gregory to question ineligible representation.

Indi's parents person started a fundraising leafage arsenic portion of their quality with spot and supporters person truthful acold donated much than £1,000.

In a statement, NUH's main caregiver Michelle Rhodes said: "We tin corroborate that the spot has made an exertion to the High Court to guarantee that Indi's champion interests tin beryllium protected."

"We privation to explicit our sympathies to Indi's household astatine this precise hard time.

"We cognize that this is an highly hard lawsuit for each progressive and we proceed to enactment Indi's household and supply specialised attraction for Indi.

"Cases similar this are truthful hard and we are of people saddened that we are incapable to bash much for Indi, but we volition ever enactment successful the champion interests of our patients and bash each we tin to advocator for them erstwhile needed."

The legal quality echoes that of Charlie Gard who had encephalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome and died successful 2017 aft a ineligible bid for experimental attraction was refused.