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A disabled girl who claims she was refused resuscitation is to sue a London hospital using the Human Rights Act, in a case that could help decide whether doctors can override the wishes of parents, writes Katie Leason.

The 10-year-old girl was in the Royal London Hospital suffering from pneumonia. Her mother claims that instead of treating her, a doctor turned down requests to put her on a ventilator, saying she was not “normal” and would “never get better”. Later the girl was put on an adult ventilator but medical staff encouraged her mother to switch it off, it was claimed.

Eventually a doctor agreed to transfer the girl to Guys Hospital, but said that if she could not breathe unaided within 48 hours her mother would have to “say goodbye”. The girl spent a fortnight on the ventilator, was discharged after three months, and is now back to her normal self.

Mr Justice Newman who heard the case said it threw up “very important” human rights issues, and that the mother had effectively been told that her daughter was “so disabled there should be no resuscitation”.

The girl and her mother were given permission to seek judicial review of the Barts and London NHS Trust’s actions, and will also sue under the Human Rights Act and the Disability Discrimination Act.

But George Hugh-Jones, for the trust, said that if the family won the case it could lead to dozens of patients suing hospitals.

Elsewhere, personal experience has led Jane Campbell, who is a commissioner with the Disability Rights Commission, to consider carrying an advance directive with her when she goes into hospital.

Earlier this year she went to hospital suffering from pneumonia. Two clinicians, on separate occasions, suggested to her that she would not want to be resuscitated should she go into respiratory failure.

“The way that they asked me was highly loaded in one direction. They assumed that because of the severity of my disability that I wouldn’t want to live,” she explained.

As a result Campbell’s husband, sister or personal assistants stayed with her throughout the six day stay.

“At no time was I left alone because I was too scared,” she said.