Tragic 19-year-old locked in a legal battle over her care ‘was denied CPR by the NHS’ before her death, letter to her devastated family reveals
- Sudiksha Thirumalesh, 19, fought NHS trust wanting to withdraw her treatment
Doctors said they would not ‘escalate treatment’ or perform CPR on a sick teenager locked in a legal battle over her care if she deteriorated seriously, a letter to her devastated family has revealed.
Sudiksha Thirumalesh, 19, previously known as ‘ST’, who suffered from a rare degenerative disease, died of a cardiac arrest as she fought an NHS trust that wanted to withdraw her life-preserving treatment.
Her family said they pleaded with doctors to help the teenager, who was subject to a draconian gagging order at the time of her death, as she deteriorated on September 12.
But they were left devastated when they were handed a letter by clinicians saying they would not be ‘escalating treatment’.
The trust involved in the case –which cannot been named – refused to comment last night.
Sudiksha Thirumalesh, 19, (pictured) suffered from a rare degenerative disease and died of a cardiac arrest as she fought an NHS trust that wanted to withdraw her life-preserving treatment
Sudiksha’s brother Varshan Thirumalesh, 27, said: ‘Our father begged the consultants by falling at their feet. Yet even the bare minimum treatment was not given to her. For example, her oxygen levels were not increased when she needed it.
‘She passed away at 10.15pm, in front of my parents and I.’
Sudiksha had mitochondrial depletion syndrome and was hospitalised last year after contracting Covid. The once outgoing sports lover was left reliant on a ventilator, feeding tube and regular dialysis.
On the day of her death, the hospital produced a letter addressed to the family stating that Sudiksha was ‘at high risk of deterioration’ that ‘may sadly lead to her death within the next 12-24 hours.
The letter added: ‘We explained that according to the Court of Protection approved treatment plan from May 2023 we believe that in an event of deterioration she will become ‘irreversibly unconscious’. In this situation we will not escalate treatment but focus on her comfort and dignity in her final hours.’
Sudiksha’s family said they pleaded with doctors to help the teenager, who was subject to a draconian gagging order at the time of her death, as she deteriorated on September 12
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: The parents of Sudiksha Thirumalesh – only known as ‘ST’ until today – reveal their anger and grief after their daughter’s death which saw them dragged through the courts after trying to raise money for her medical treatment overseas
Sudkisha had hoped to join clinical trials which she saw as her ‘only chance’. But the family say she was unable to raise the £1.5million needed because reporting restrictions banned her from telling the public her story.
Instead she was taken to court in March by the trust, which insisted she was ‘actively dying’ and that the kindest course of action would be to ‘de-escalate her intensive care’.
Her doctors successfully argued that her refusal to accept their prognosis was a sign of delusion and that the Court of Protection should decide her fate.
This was despite the fact that two court-appointed psychiatrists took the view that Sudiksha did have ‘capacity’ to make decisions. She died just weeks after launching an appeal.
Her family have already been to the High Court to successfully remove the draconian reporting restrictions on her case and were able to finally tell her story in an exclusive interview in Saturday’s Daily Mail.
They are still fighting for restrictions on identifying the NHS trust, hospital and clinicians involved to be lifted. Mr Justice Peel reserved judgment on these matters until today.
Source: Read Full Article