Court orders tube-feeding of anorexic, 22, to continue

A 22-year-old woman who suffers from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa is to be fed through a tube in hospital for another period, the president of the High Court decided yesterday after he was told she has gained weight.

The woman, who now weighs 37.9kg, may be able to go on a new weight maintenance programme once she reaches her 40kg target, the High Court heard yesterday.

Counsel for the HSE, Peter Finlay SC, said it was agreed the court order, first granted last January, that the woman be fed through a tube was a life-saving exercise. He said the multidisciplinary team looking after the woman planned, once she reached 40kg with a BMI of 15, to put a plan in place for weight maintenance and geared towards her stopping the programme. He said this would last eight to 10 weeks and he asked that the court assess the situation again in eight weeks time. Counsel asked that the feeding order stay in place for the moment.