Doctors say ‘terrible reality’ of baby girl at centre of High Court battle is that she is ‘dying’
Indi Gregory’s parents are battling to continue her life support treatment
A critically ill baby girl whose parents are battling to continue her life support treatment is “dying”, doctors have told a High Court judge.
The specialist on Monday told Mr Justice Peel that keeping seven-month-old Indi Gregory on a ventilaton would only “prolong matters”.
The doctor said staff treating Indi – who has mitochondrial disease, a genetic condition that saps energy from the body’s cells – at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham had done the best they could and were “very sad”.
Hospital bosses want Mr Justice Peel to rule that doctors can lawfully limit treatment provided to Indi.
However, Indi’s parents Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, who are both in their 30s and from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, want treatment to continue and said she “deserves a chance at life”.
Mr Justice Peel is considering evidence at a private trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
“We feel very sad,” the doctor, who cannot be named in media reports, told Mr Justice Peel on Monday.
“She is a little girl we have tried to treat to the best of our abilities.” He added: “The terrible reality is that she is dying.”
The doctor said “further ventilation” would “prolong matters”.
Bosses at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who have responsibility for Indi’s care, have asked the judge to make decisions.
In a statement last week, Indi’s father said: “Indi has been in hospital all her young life, and she has had ups and downs, but during the good times she has been on a normal ward, able to breathe by herself and babble happily.”
Mr Gregory added: “Our daughter responds to us, and on her good days she is babbling, making noises, moving all her limbs.
“She can definitely experience happiness. She cries like a normal baby. We know she is disabled, but you don’t just let disabled people die. We just want to give her a chance.
“We as a family are prepared to do whatever it takes to fight for the life of our beautiful daughter, Indi.”
Barrister Emma Sutton KC, who is leading the trust’s legal team, has told the judge that Indi is “critically” ill.
She has told how Indi has a “devastating neurometabolic disorder”, which is “exceptionally rare”.
Mr Justice Peel is considering evidence behind closed doors but has allowed journalists to attend the hearing and ruled that Indi, her parents, and the hospital can be named in reports.
He ruled that medics treating Indi – and a guardian appointed to represent her interests – could not be named.
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