The Ontario hospital caring for an infant boy who is being kept alive by a breathing tube defended its decisions over the child's care in a statement released to the media Sunday afternoon.
The parents of Joseph Maraachli have asked the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) to remove their son's breathing tube and perform a tracheostomy, which creates an opening into the windpipe for a ventilator.
The 13-month-old has been a patient at LHSC since Oct. 2010, when he was admitted for treatment for a "severe and progressively deteriorating neurological condition," the hospital said in the statement.
Joseph breathes with the help of a breathing tube, and gets nourishment from a feeding tube inserted in his abdomen.
The child's parents have argued that removing Joseph's breathing tube would lead to a violent death by suffocation, and want the tracheostomy so he can die peacefully at home.
According to the hospital, repeated neurological assessments and other tests have determined his degree of brain injury is "severe and progressive," and the facility refuses to perform the tracheostomy "because it is not a palliative procedure."
The statement went on: "It is an invasive procedure in which a device is installed in a hole cut in the throat. It is frequently indicated for patients who require a long term breathing machine. This is not indicated for Baby Joseph because he has a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is fatal."
When LHSC and the family hit an impasse over the next steps in Joseph's care, the hospital referred to the independent Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario. The hospital asked the agency to determine whether Joseph's parents, in refusing to allow the hospital to remove their son's breathing tube, were complying with the principles for substitute decision-making under Ontario's Health Care Consent Act.
In January, the board issued a 22-page decision in which it agreed with the hospital that Joseph's breathing tube be removed, the parents consent to an order not to resuscitate and the baby be referred for palliative care. Earlier this month, the Ontario Superior Court upheld the board's ruling.
In its statement, the hospital says it is considering legal action over allegations its staff seeks to "kill" Joseph, calling those suggestions "outrageous and defamatory."
Meanwhile, a family spokesperson has said the Maraachlis will fight the ruling.
With files from The Canadian Press
