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Tafida Raqeeb case: Parents win legal fight to send critically ill child to Italy for treatment

The Royal London Hospital said further treatment would be futile because five-year-old Tafida has permanent brain damage.

Thursday 3 October 2019 14:41, UK

Tafida Raqeeb suffered a traumatic brain injury in February and clinicians at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel have said there is no hope for her and that it is in her best interests to be allowed to die.
Image: Tafida Raqeeb suffered a traumatic brain injury in February
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The parents of a critically ill five-year-old girl have won their legal fight to send her to Italy for life-support treatment.

Specialists caring for Tafida Raqeeb at the Royal London Hospital said further treatment would be futile because the youngster has permanent brain damage and has no chance of recovery.

Tafida's parents, who live in Newham, east London, took the case to the High Court because they want to move her to Gaslini children's hospital in Genoa, and have organised funding.

Shelina Begum, holds a picture of her five-year-old daughter Tafida Raqeeb, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where she and her husband Mohammed Raqeeb, have won a ruling on whether treatment should be stopped for her.
Image: Shelina Begum holds a picture of her daughter Tafida outside court

Her mother, solicitor Shelina Begum, and father, construction consultant Mohammed Raqeeb, said doctors there would keep providing life-support treatment until Tafida was diagnosed as brain dead.

They said their daughter, who has a British-Bangladeshi background, is from a Muslim family and Islamic law only allows God to end life.

Mr Justice MacDonald analysed evidence in the case at the High Court and ruled on Thursday that Tafida can be moved to Italy.

Barrister David Lock QC, representing Tafida's parents, expressed their "profound thanks" and said the ruling was an "enormous relief".

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Shelina Begum and husband Mohammed Raqeeb (right) outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where they have won a ruling on whether treatment should be stopped for their five-year-old daughter Tafida Raqeeb.
Image: Shelina Begum and husband Mohammed Raqeeb (R) address the media after the ruling

Mr Lock said the couple now "wanted to get on with the transfer".

Following the court's decision, Mr Raqeeb said: 'We are thrilled with the judgment."

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August 2019: 'Is letting my daughter die in her best interest?'

Lawyers representing bosses at Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the Royal London Hospital, might ask Mr Justice MacDonald to halt Tafida's transfer pending any appeal hearing on Friday.

Sky News correspondent Helen-Ann Smith, who was in court, said there was an "audible wave of emotion" as the judge's ruling was announced.

Lawyers for the hospital told the court they need to take time to consider whether to appeal because the ruling could have implications for other children, Smith added.

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The High Court heard how Tafida woke her parents in the early hours in February complaining of a headache.

She collapsed shortly afterwards and doctors discovered that blood vessels in her brain were tangled and had ruptured.

Tafida Raqeeb suffered a traumatic brain injury in February (Save Tafida Facebook page)
Image: Tafida's parents want to move her to a children's hospital in Genoa

At a vigil ahead of the High Court decision, Tafida's uncle Johrul Islam said she was showing signs of improvement.

He added: "She has a chance of getting better, and we're not expecting a miracle cure, we're not saying that she will get back 100%, but we're happy to accept her how she is, we're a very tight-knit family, we will be there to support her, help her get better."

The case had echoes of that of Charlie Gard, who died in July 2017 after his parents lost a legal battle for the right to take him to the United States for experimental treatment, which they hoped might give him a "meaningful life".