Townsend v. Epsom & St. Helier University Hospitals
The UK Supreme Court will hear this case on January 12, 2027. UKSC No. 2026/0050.
The patient, Mr. Barnor, suffered strokes such that there was no possible neurological recovery. The hospital stopped dialysis. It contended that it did not need to seek a "best interest" determination from the court, because this was a purely clinical decision.
One of the two questions presented is whether there is an obligation on an NHS commissioning body to apply to the Court of Protection to resolve disputes about medical treatment (including life-sustaining treatment) where the treatment sought on behalf of an incapacitated patient is not being offered by the patient’s treating clinicians because they have concluded that such treatment is clinically inappropriate?
The Court of Protection ruled on February 17, 2026. The Court of Appeal ruled on February 23, 2026. The appeal to the Supreme Court was granted on June 29, 2026.