Judge rules mentally disabled woman can be taken from her home to undergo surgery

A mentally-disabled agoraphobic can be sedated and taken from the home she has not left for many years so doctors can perform an eye operation, a judge has ruled after a hearing in a specialist court.

Mr Justice Cobb has also given medics permission to restrain the woman, if necessary, to stop her interfering with dressings.

He concluded that the distress would be outweighed by the benefits of surgery.

The judge analysed the case in a hearing at the Court of Protection – where issues relating to vulnerable people who may lack the mental capacity to make decisions – are considered.

He ruled that the woman, who is middle-aged and lives with carers, could not be identified.

Mr Justice Cobb had been asked to approved a care plan drawn up by medics working for the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Lawyers representing trust bosses said the woman had “severely restricted vision” which caused her distress.

They told the judge that the woman’s sight was “so poor” that she could no longer do things she enjoyed such as watching television and drawing.

Mr Justice Cobb said the woman had “sort of taken refuge”.

Doctors had tended the woman at home and a previous attempt to “prise” her away for treatment had been unsuccessful.

Barrister Susanna Rickard, who led the trust’s legal team, said specialists felt that surgery would lead to a substantial improvement in the woman’s sight and significantly improve her quality of life.

Ms Rickard said doctors thought the woman’s agoraphobia was linked to her sight problems.

Medics had put together a treatment and care plan which included contingency plans for sedation and restraint.

Mr Justice Cobb was told that the woman’s relatives also thought surgery would be in her best interests.

The woman’s interests were represented by staff from the office of the Official Solicitor – who offer help to vulnerable people unable to make decisions.

Michael Horne QC, who led the Official Solicitor’s legal team, approved the plan put forward by the trust and also said surgery would be in the woman’s best interests.

Mr Justice Cobb – who ruled that the woman lacked the mental capacity to make decisions about treatment – agreed.

“There are inevitably, it seems to me, short-term traumas which (she) will experience by being taken from her home – where she has sort of taken refuge for many years, almost without venturing outside,” said the judge.

“These short-term traumas have to be weighed against the short, medium and long-term benefits.”

He said he was “wholly satisfied” that the plan drawn up by medics was in the woman’s best interests.

Mr Justice Cobb delivered a ruling after analysing evidence at a public hearing in London on Wednesday.

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2016, All Rights Reserved.