Jump directly to the content
CHARLIE'S FINAL DAYS

Charlie Gard’s desperate parents plead for intensive care doctor to help them take terminally ill tot home to die

Chris Gard and Connie Yates yesterday revealed they had given up their legal fight for the 11-month-old to travel to the US for pioneering treatment

CHARLIE Gard's parents have desperately begged for an intensive care doctor to help them take their terminally ill son home to die.

It's after a judge warned that a hospice "may be the only option" for the little boy.

 Charlie's mum Connie leaves court today as a judge says he will considers decision to let tot die at home
Charlie's mum Connie leaves court today as a judge says he will considers decision to let tot die at homeCredit: Jamie Lorriman
 Charlie Gard is not expected to reach his first birthday and his parents have given up the legal fight to take him to the US
6
Charlie Gard is not expected to reach his first birthday and his parents have given up the legal fight to take him to the USCredit: PA:Press Association

They were given less than 24 hours by the High Court judge to find an intensive care specialist to supervise the move.

Mr Justice Francis today said he will make a decision about where the 11-month-old boy should spend the remainder of his life, on Wednesday.

If they fail, Charlie may be forced to die in hospital.

Appealing for doctors' help tonight, Charlie's mum Connie told : "We promised Charlie every day we would take him home.

"It seems really upsetting after everything we've been through to deny us this."

Parents Chris and Connie have offered to pay for a mobile ventilator and medics which will allow Charlie to leave hospital.

But the court heard today that the ventilator needed for the 11-month-old won't fit through the front door of the family home.

Mr Francis said: "I want to accommodate Charlie's parents interests but it looks as if a hospice is the only option.

"We must avoid risk something going wrong at home."

Charlie's parents have told the hospital they want their boy to be at home and ventilated for several days before palliative care begins.

The family lawyer has accused Great Ormond Street Hospital of "putting obstacles in the way".

 Connie, who attended court without husband Chris, spoke on the phone during the court break
Connie, who attended court without husband Chris, spoke on the phone during the court breakCredit: London News Pictures

Doctors caring for Charlie say there are practical difficulties in providing the intensive care Charlie needs outside a hospital, and the judge said the chances of him being able to spend his final days at home are "small".

Mr Justice Francis presided over the dispute at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London on Tuesday, and the hearing is scheduled to resume at 2pm on Wednesday.

The judge said the dispute cried out for settlement.

But he said if a solution could not be agreed he would decide on Wednesday.

Barrister Grant Armstrong, who represents the couple, from Bedfont, west London, said they hoped the hospital "would work with them" and suggested to Mr Justice Francis the hospital was trying to cause problems.

Mr Armstrong told the court: "We struggle with the difficulties the hospital is placing in the way of the parents having a short period of time before the final act in Charlie's short life."

He said: “The parents’ last wish is to take Charlie home, a few days of tranquillity outside of the hospital.

“They want him to see out his last few days of his life in a loving and caring environment.

“We can’t see what the problem is. GOSH has no legal right to detain him in hospital.”

But lawyers for Great Ormond Street Hospital have said the parents had proposed no clear, practical plan to get Charlie home.

 Connie Yates arrives in court on Tuesday, with the mother expected to ask the courts to have her son allowed home
6
Connie Yates arrives in court on Tuesday, with the mother expected to ask the courts to have her son allowed homeCredit: Reuters
 Connie Yates and her lawyer arrived at the High Court for the latest hearing
6
Connie Yates and her lawyer arrived at the High Court for the latest hearingCredit: Reuters
 The couple, pictured yesterday, has continuously fought for their son
6
The couple, pictured yesterday, has continuously fought for their sonCredit: EPA

Barrister Katie Gollop QC, who leads Great Ormond Street's legal team, said staff were not creating "obstacles".

She said nothing could be further from the truth - she said staff had "moved heaven and earth" for Charlie.

But she said the couple's needs had to be balanced against Charlie's best interests.

Ms Gollop said: ''The care plan must be safe, it must spare Charlie all pain and protect his dignity.

''At the same time, the plan must honour his parents' wishes about two matters in particular, namely the time and place of his passing.''

She said finalising an end-of-life care plan was the "most delicate and difficult task".

''Charlie's parents want him to be with them and ventilated at home for several days before receiving palliative care,'' she said.

''Above all, Great Ormond Street wants to fulfil that last wish.''

She added: ''The key obstacle, and one which the hospital cannot see a way around, is the reality of invasive ventilation that Charlie requires.

''Charlie is a child who requires highly specialised treatment. His care cannot be simplified.

''It is in Charlie's best interests, and everybody's, that the risk of a precipitate, distressing or disordered death is removed, so that he may be reassured of a peaceful and dignified passing.''

Ms Gollop said Great Ormond Street had found an ''excellent hospice'' which would give Charlie and his parents the space, privacy and protection they needed.

Charlie's mother, Connie, attended court without her partner, Chris, today.

Mr Justice Francis suggested the hearing could be staged behind closed doors, but Connie maintained she wanted it to be heard in the public arena.

However the hearing was halted at about 3.30pm so lawyers and Connie could have out-of-court discussions.

In an attempt to reach a solution the hospital suggested a "hospice option" - which Charlie's parents have maintained is a second option.

The court heard Chris Gard and Connie Yates had refused the hospital's offer for mediation.

Great Ormond Street doctors told Mr Justice Francis that finalising an end-of-life care plan was the "most delicate and difficult task".

Katie Gollop QC, outlined doctors' concerns in a written statement given to the judge - and said the boy's best interests had to be balanced against his parents' needs.

The couple have said their greatest wish is to bath their baby boy at home, and put him to bed in his room - one he has never slept in.

They had devoted five months to fight for Charlie, who suffers from the rare condition mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, travel to the US for pioneering treatment.

Yesterday the couple ended their fight to try and save the tot’s life as they emotionally revealed “time has run out”.

Paying tribute to their son, they said outside court: "Mummy and daddy love you so much Charlie, we always have and we always will and we are so sorry that we couldn’t save you."

The Vatican yesterday said in a statement that Pope Francis ";feels especially close" to the Gard family "at this time of immense suffering."

A Vatican hospital added experimental therapy "could have been an opportunity" to help Charlie.

Charlie’s parents continually clashed with lawyers throughout the case, erupting in fury when Great Ormond Street doctors tried to ban them from key meetings discussing his ill health and care.

On July 19, Dr Michio Hirano failed to convince Great Ormond Street medics that his experimental treatment offers a lifeline to little Charlie.

 Charlie Gard's parents are now hoping to take their son home to die
6
Charlie Gard's parents are now hoping to take their son home to dieCredit: PA:Press Association
 Charlie with parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates
6
Charlie with parents Chris Gard and Connie YatesCredit: PA:Press Association Images

A lawyer representing Great Ormond Street said a new MRI scan on Charlie made for “very sad reading”.

Mr Justice Francis was due to consider all the evidence on July 24 and expected to make a final decision on Charlie’s fate on July 25.

But it was announced on July 24 that Charlie’s parents were ending their legal fight and had withdrawn their application from the High Court.

Their barrister Grant Armstrong told the court: “This case is now about time. Sadly time has run out.”

Mr Armstrong said Charlie’s parents had made a decision following the latest medical reports and scans, adding that damage to the tot’s muscle and tissue was irreversible.


We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.


Topics