Lord Burnett, the Lord Chief Justice’s lead judgment, in R (Maguire) v HM Senior Coroner for Blackpool and Fylde [2020] EWCA Civ 738, may have particular relevance in light of the devastating impact of COVID-19 on thousands of care home residents.
The court
dismissed the appeal. The case concerned an inquest into the death of
Jacqueline Maguire, a care home resident with Down’s syndrome, who died of
natural causes.
Emma Price,
barrister at 5 Essex Court, said: ‘The decision is likely to be a very significant
one for coroners and practitioners in coronial, mental health and healthcare
law (NHS Figures suggest that about 200,000 applications are made for DoLS per
year, about half of which are granted), especially in the light of the
significant number of deaths of those in care homes in the course of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
‘The headline
to take away from the Court of Appeal’s decision is that the operational duty
to protect life under Art 2 is not owed to those in a vulnerable position in
care homes for all purposes. In the event of a death which follows either
alleged failures or inadequate interventions by medical professionals, there
are “very exceptional circumstances” which can give rise to a breach of the
operational duty under Art 2, but there was no evidence that such circumstances
existed in Jacqueline Maguire’s case.’
