Baby tried to breathe after hospital ruled he had died

A BABY seriously ill in hospital began trying to breathe after doctors decided he was dead, the High Court heard.

The three-month-old remains in a “parlous situation” and is unlikely to recover, Mr Justice Hayden said.

Bosses at a London hospital trust responsible for the infant’s care became involved in a treatment dispute with his parents and asked a judge based in the Family Division of the High Court in London to consider the case.

They wanted a declaration that the boy, who was born in April, was dead.

But lawyers told Mr Justice Hayden that a nurse had noticed the boy trying to breathe, more than a week after doctors had carried out brain stem tests and concluded he had died.

A specialist told the judge the baby “now has consistent shallow irregular breathing” when disconnected from a ventilator.

Details of the case emerged last week after Mr Justice Hayden considered evidence at an online hearing.

He has published a written ruling on the case and says the baby’s parents regard what has happened as a “miracle”. But he said evidence indicated the boy is “not likely” to recover.

Mr Justice Hayden, who is due to reconsider the case at a hearing in late August, said doctors had rescinded “the clinical ascertainment of death”, and “further independent expert evidence” was being gathered.

The judge said in his ruling that it was important that what occurred was put “into the public domain” because it might prove to have “wider resonance”.

Bosses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust have responsibility for the boy’s care and had begun litigation.