The parents of a 10-month-old boy, who is at the centre of a life-support treatment dispute, have been given more time to prepare for a High Court trial.
Specialists at King’s College Hospital in London say giving further intensive care treatment to Isaiah Haastrup is ‘futile, burdensome and not in his best interests’.
Isaiah’s mother Takesha Thomas and father Lanre Haastrup want treatment to continue.
A judge had been scheduled to start analysing detailed evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London today.
But Mr Justice MacDonald adjourned the start of the trial until next Monday after Isaiah’s mother and father said they needed more time to prepare their case.
He also said two independent specialists asked for second opinions have agreed with treating doctors.
Isaiah’s mother Takesha Thomas and father Lanre Haastrup want treatment to continue
Barrister Fiona Paterson, who is representing King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at preliminary hearings, has told Mr Justice MacDonald that Isaiah was born at King’s College Hospital on February 18 with a severe brain injury thought to have been caused by a deprivation of oxygen.
She said he was ‘ventilator-dependent’ and being cared for in a paediatric intensive care unit.
Doctors did not think there were any ‘further investigations or forms of treatment’ which would benefit him. Mr Justice MacDonald said independent experts ‘concur entirely’.
Mr Hasstrup was banned from King’s College hospital after relations between the himself and doctors deteriorated. In November, he failed in a legal bid to overturn the ban.
In a letter to the High Court last year, the hospital claimed Mr Haastrup was ‘verbally abusive’ ‘physically aggressive’ and ‘created significant risk, anxiety and undue stress not only to Trust staff but also other acutely unwell children’.
In a ruling, Mr Justice Lavender said Mr Haastrup had ‘not addressed (let alone denied) this alleged behaviour in the Claim Form or in his statement’.
The Judge concluded Mr Haastrup had not ‘demonstrated any arguable error of law’ on the part of the hospital and refused his appeal.
Lanre Hasstrup, left, pictured with his partner Takesha Thomas, right, has been barred by staff from King’s College Hospital in London where their infant son Isaiah is being treated
Isaiah, pictured, suffered serious brain damage due to possible oxygen deprivation which experts at King’s College Hospital claim makes further intensive care treatment ‘futile’
Isaiah’s parents reject the medical evidence and insist the hospital should continue treating their son who was born on February 18 in King’s College Hospital in London
The High Court had previously heard Mr Hasstrup had been banned as a result of an incident at the hospital at a private hearing at the Family Division.
Specialists at King’s College Hospital say giving further intensive care treatment to the seven-month-old is ‘futile, burdensome and not in his best interests’.
Mr Justice MacDonald has made an order barring staff caring for Isaiah, whose family home is in Peckham, south-east London, from being identified in media reports.
In an earlier hearing, Mr Haastrup claimed: ‘There was no violence. Police were simply called by the (hospital staff) for breach of the peace.
‘I am not a saint but I am not a demon either, as is being portrayed.’
Mr Justice MacDonald said he wanted Isaiah’s parents and hospital bosses to mediate in the hope of reaching agreement and avoiding the need for a trial.