Resolving conflict about treatment for seriously ill children

On Saturday 6 August, another high profile case of conflict between parents and doctors about the treatment for a seriously ill child came to an end after treatment was withdrawn from 12 year old Archie Battersbee. Archie is the latest in a series of such cases in the UK to reach public attention in the past five years.Media attention given to cases like this can give the impression that conflict about treatment for critically ill children is common, and that the UK is unusual in having so many disputes. But although it is difficult to be sure (there are little or no comparative data), both of these impressions are likely incorrect. Futility disputes are well described and occur regularly, albeit infrequently, in many other countries.1The majority of cases of disagreement are not reported because they do not end up going to court. However, reflecting on the outcome of less high…
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