Orders sought allowing doctors not to resuscitate man

The HSE wants court orders allowing doctors not to resuscitate a severely brain-injured man if his condition deteriorates further.

Doctors consider the man, aged in his thirties and on ventilator support for some years, has irreversible brain injury with a poor prognosis. His condition is deteriorating and they believe he will most likely eventually succumb to severe pneumonia and die.

The man’s parents believe he is communicating with them and do not want his existing status altered pending their consideration of two independent medical reports, which the HSE has agreed to commission, regarding his ability to communicate.