New £1.5m study will investigate what the ‘best interests’ are of patients who lack mental capacity

A new study that
will explore the healthcare decisions made in the “best interests” of patients
who are unable to make decisions for themselves because they lack mental
capacity or competence has been awarded £1.5 million by the Wellcome
Trust.

The five-year
study, led by Professor
Richard Huxtable at the University of Bristol and an expert in medical
ethics, will investigate how the “best interests” of such patients should be
understood – which factors and values should be considered, who should be
involved, and indeed whether “‘best interests” is even the best approach. The
patients include children – as poignantly illustrated in the recent,
widely-publicised legal case of Charlie Gard – and adults, including those with
learning disabilities, dementia or prolonged disorders of consciousness.

Professor Huxtable
in Bristol Medical School will lead the project entitled ‘Balancing Best
Interests in Healthcare, Ethics and Law (BABEL)’ with
Dr Jon Ives and Dr
Giles Birchley from the Centre for Ethics in Medicine in Bristol Medical School, and Dr
Judy Laing, the co-director of the Centre for Health, Law and Society in
the Law School, and her colleague Dr
Sheelagh McGuinness. They will be joined by a broad multi-disciplinary team
of researchers, patients and professionals who will contribute to the study.

Professor Huxtable
said:

“We are absolutely thrilled that the Wellcome Trust has chosen to support
this important project. Best interests decisions are taken daily for thousands
of patients and we hope, through our five years of work, to help support and
inform everyone involved, from patients to carers to professionals.”

Professor Hugh
Brady, Vice-Chancellor
and President,
of the University of Bristol, added:

“Bristol’s expertise in medical ethics and
law makes it well placed to conduct this important cross-disciplinary project.
We are grateful to the Wellcome Trust for this award that will ultimately help
provide the much-needed clarity to those involved in making complex decisions
around the best interests of patients.”

The project will
begin later in 2018. Further information will be available from Centre
for Ethics in Medicine and the Centre
for Health, Law and Society.