Specialists should try to establish whether a boy, 12, is dead, judge rules

SPECIALISTS should try to establish whether a 12-year-old boy who has not regained consciousness since suffering “catastrophic” brain damage in an incident at home more than a month ago is dead, a High Court judge has ruled.

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot concluded that a brain-stem test would be in Archie Battersbee’s best interests, at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London yesterday.

Specialists treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, think it “highly likely” the youngster is dead and say life-support treatment should end.

Bosses at the hospital’s governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, asked the judge to rule that a brain-stem test would be in Archie’s best interests.

A specialist told the judge that the brain stem was responsible for the functions which kept people alive.

Archie’s parents Hollie Dance, 46, and Paul Battersbee, 56, who are separated and both from Southend, Essex, have concerns about doctors’ proposals and want treatment to continue.

They questioned the reliability of the test, feared that it could cause more damage and asked why Archie was not receiving treatment to relieve swelling on his brain

Ms Dance has told how she found Archie with a ligature over his head on April 7, and thinks he might have been taking part in an online challenge.