Devices switched off: Archie (12) is dead - family "devastated"

Created: 08/08/2022, 05:00

By: Sandra Kathe

The mother of the twelve-year-old coma patient Archie had fought in vain to keep her son alive until the end.

© Aaron Chown/dpa

Clinic staff and the family of a seriously injured 12-year-old have been arguing for months about life-sustaining measures.

Now the boy is dead.

London – Twelve-year-old Archie, who sustained severe brain injuries in an accident in April, is dead. His case became known because doctors had been advising for months to turn off life-support equipment due to the hopeless medical situation.

However, the family fought against the advice of the clinic staff and went all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

However, the family's long legal tug of war could not help and life support was withdrawn at the London hospital where the boy had been cared for for months by midday on Saturday (6 August).

According to his family, Archie's medication was stopped at 10 a.m.

Two hours later, the ventilators were removed.

A few hours earlier, a court in Great Britain had rejected an application for Archie to be transferred to a hospice because of his unstable condition.

After a serious accident: 12-year-old boy from England died with severe brain injuries

Archie fell into a coma with severe brain injuries after an accident in April in his hometown of Southend-on-Sea in the British county of Essex, according to media reports after a failed test of courage for a social media platform.

For months he was being treated and kept alive at the Royal London Hospital in the English capital.

However, the treating doctors did not see a chance of recovery for a long time.

The family responded to medical advice to turn off life support with multiple lawsuits.

She had been supported by the Christian organization Christian Concern, whose spokesman told Sky News on Saturday that "all legal options" had been exhausted and the family was "devastated".

12-year-old coma patient: European Court of Human Rights "not competent"

Before shutting down the equipment, the English Court of Appeal had said it was in the boy's best interest that life support should be removed in the hospital rather than in another setting.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had rejected its jurisdiction in the decision.

Archie's mother, Hollie Dance, also confirmed her son's death to the media.

He fought "to the end".

(ska with dpa)