Toddler Case Hospital Trust Named

Toddler Case Hospital Trust Named

A hospital trust which has asked a judge to rule that life support treatment can be withdrawn from a toddler who is in a coma after choking has failed in a bid to prevent its name being revealed.

Bosses wanted Mr Justice Hayden to bar journalists from naming the King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which is based in Denmark Hill, south-east London, in media reports of the case.

They said naming the trust might lead to the identity of the little boy being revealed - and suggested that the hospital where he is being treated could be "besieged by the media".

But the judge has ruled against them after the Press Association news agency argued that the public had a right to know the names of authorities making such applications, and said naming the trust would not lead to the little boy's identity being revealed or affect his care.

Decisions are due to be made on the toddler's treatment at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London in the near future.

Mr Justice Hayden heard argument on whether the trust should be identified at a preliminary hearing on Thursday.

He said neither the identity of the toddler nor the name of the hospital could be revealed.

The same trust featured in a similar case in September when another High Court judge ruled that a 17-month-old boy with brain damage should be taken off a life support machine.

In that case, Ms Justice Russell barred journalists from naming the trust while the little boy was alive - in case information led to him being identified.

The trust's name emerged about a week after the ruling following the toddler's death.

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