Judge rules doctors SHOULD test to see if boy, 12, is brain-dead

Specialists should try to establish whether a 12-year-old boy – who has not regained consciousness since suffering ‘catastrophic’ brain damage in an incident at home more than a month ago – is dead, a High Court judge has ruled.

A brain-stem test would be in Archie Battersbee’s best interest, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot concluded at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London today.

It comes follow his mother’s fight in the High Court to keep her 12-year-old son alive against a hospital who want to end his life support has urged a judge to give him ‘more time’. 

His parents, Hollie Dance (above) and Paul Battersbee, have insisted on more time before switching off Archie’s life support

Specialists treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, think it ‘highly likely’ the youngster is dead and say life-support treatment should end.

Bosses at the hospital’s governing trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, asked the judge to rule that a brain-stem test would be in Archie’s best interests.

A specialist told the judge that the brain stem was responsible for the functions which kept people alive.

Archie’s parents Hollie Dance, 46, and Paul Battersbee, 56, who are separated and both from Southend, Essex, have concerns about doctors’ proposals and want treatment to continue.

They questioned the reliability of the test, feared that it could cause more damage and asked why Archie, who lives with his mother, was not receiving treatment to relieve swelling on his brain.

Doctors treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital believe that he is brain-stem dead but his parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee oppose switching off his life support treatment

Miss Dance has told how she found Archie with a ligature over his head on April 7, and thinks he might have been taking part in an online challenge.

She had urged the judge to give her son, a keen gymnast, ‘more time’.

‘Everyone is in such a rush,’ she told the PA news agency.

‘I’m asking the judge to just give him more time – give him time to fight back.’

She added: ‘It’s only been five weeks – it took me longer to get over the flu. What’s the rush?’

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot oversaw a private hearing but said Archie could be named in media reports of the case.

A campaign organisation called the Christian Legal Centre said it is supporting Archie’s family.

Archie’s sister Lauren set up an Instagram page ‘Spread the purple wave’ with regular updates on Archie’s condition

Fiona Paterson, for Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, told the judge the ‘priority’ is a decision on whether Archie should have the brain-stem test

‘We are standing with Archie and his family every step of the way,’ said the centre’s chief executive, Andrea Williams.

‘We want to give him every chance of life.’

Archie was found unresponsive at home in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, with a ligature around his neck on April 7 and has not awoken since.

Archie’s brother Tom, 22 and sister Lauren, 20 come every day to visit him and try to get him to respond. His family talks to him and plays his favourite song, Lucis Dreams by Juice WRLD , along with voice notes from his friends.

Archie’s sister Lauren set up an Instagram page ‘Spread the purple wave’ with regular updates on Archie’s condition.

Miss Dance has speculated that Archie may have been taking part in a ‘online challenge’ when he was hurt.