Gloucestershire City Council v AB [2022] EWCOP 42

Self-harm and Article 2 "On the afternoon of 29 September 2022, the Official Solicitor submitted that an operational duty had arisen under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights for the public bodies to take reasonable steps to protect AB from a real and immediate risk to her life. This conclusion was not simply in the context of the recent change in policy as to self-harm and restraint but also events in August 2022 where AB had consumed both noxious substances and medication which required her to attend hospital. The Official Solicitor submitted that: (i) the position put forward by the Care Co-ordinator that the placement could implement their own care plans was clinically, ethically and legally unsustainable; (ii) it was legally questionable as to whether the self-harm arrangement could be authorised by way of schedule A1; (iii) the current arrangements in respect of self-harm are so unplanned and risky that they ought not continue; (iv) exceptionally, the care and support arrangements should be authorised by the Court and not by the processes set out in Schedule A1 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. ... In light of the exceptional circumstances of this case, the public interest and to provide a sufficient element of public scrutiny considering the Official Solicitor’s submissions as to Article 2 of the ECHR, the Senior Judge has ordered that this order is published in this, anonymised, form."