GMC appeals against judgment on withholding treatment

doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7470.818

BMJ 2004;329:818 (9 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7470.818

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GMC appeals against judgment on withholding treatment

BMJ Clare Dyer legal correspondent

The General Medical Council filed an appeal last week against a high court ruling which has cast doubt on key aspects of the GMC�s guidance on the circumstances in which doctors can properly withhold or withdraw treatment which prolongs life.

The ruling was won last July by Leslie Burke, aged 44 (BMJ 2004;329:309, 7 Aug). He has cerebellar ataxia and told the court that he feared that doctors might withdraw artificial feeding and let him die if he lost the ability to communicate.

Ruling in his favour, Mr Justice Munby said the legal content of the guidance, issued in 2002, was "properly vulnerable" to criticism in some respects. It failed to acknowledge the duty of a doctor who was unable or unwilling to carry out the wishes of his patient to go on providing treatment until he could find another doctor who would do . . . [Full text of this article]

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