The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Charlie Gard to spend final days in hospice
Parents and doctors have still to agree care plan for terminally-ill baby
Charlie Gard will spend the final part of his life in a hospice, a High Court judge says.
Both his parents and doctors have agreed that he should move to a hospice, Mr Justice Francis heard.
But they disagreed over the detail of care plans.
The judge said if an agreement could not be reached by noon today, Charlie would be moved to a hospice and life support treatment would end shortly after.
Charlie’s mother, Connie Yates, became distressed as the judge made his decision.
She left court crying and said: “I hope you are happy with yourselves.”
Ms Yates and Charlie’s father Chris Gard had initially said that they wanted 11-month-old Charlie to spend his last days with them at home before dying.
But doctors caring for Charlie at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London say it is not practical to provide life-support treatment to Charlie at the couple’s home for days.
They say a hospice would be a better plan.
Lawyers representing the couple yesterday told the judge overseeing the dispute about a change of heart.
They said the couple now wanted a move to a hospice.
But they said Charlie’s parents were still in dispute with doctors over the detail of care plans.
Mr Justice Francis began analysing the dispute at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court on Tuesday.
He said yesterday that the time had come for a decision to be made.
Charlie’s parents became embroiled in the new fight with doctors earlier this week, a day after abandoning attempts to persuade the judge to let their son travel to America for experimental treatment.
Mr Gard and Ms Yates, who are aged in their thirties and come from Bedfont, west London, had asked Mr Justice Francis to rule that Charlie should be allowed to undergo a therapy trial in New York.
Doctors at Great Ormond Street said the therapy would not help.
They said life-support treatment should stop.
Mr Justice Francis in April ruled in favour of Great Ormond Street and said Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity.
Charlie’s parents subsequently failed to overturn his ruling in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in London.
They also failed to persuade European Court of Human Rights judges to intervene.
But the couple had recently returned to court, saying they had new evidence, and asked Mr Justice Francis to change his mind.
They abandoned their legal fight on Monday after concluding that Charlie had deteriorated to the “point of no return”.
I hope you are happy with yourselves. CHARLIE’S MOTHER CONNIE YATES