§ Lord Ashbourneasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will publish the criteria for withdrawing food and fluids from patients with severe brain damage drawn up in February 1996, which were relied on in the cases of Miss "D" and re H in the Family Division of the High Court this year; and whether these criteria should be revised in the light of evidence that such patients can experience thirst if the hypothalamus has not been damaged.
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonI assume the noble Lord refers to the criteria for withdrawing food and fluids drawn up by an international working party and published by the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability in February 1996. However, I understand that these were not referred to in the judgment in the case of Miss D. Whether the criteria should be revised is a matter for the Royal Hospital.
The noble Lord may be aware that following a recommendation of the House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics the Royal College of Physicians published guidelines in March 1996 entitled "The Permanent Vegetative State".