Now we all know that hospital beds have been regarded as being at something of a premium recently as the NHS has gathered together all its resources to support the Covid 19 public health emergency but we did raise an eyebrow at the idea of an injunction being issued to recover a hospital bad!

In University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v MB [2020] the court issued just such an injunction. In this case it was common ground that there was no longer a need for the defendant to receive in patient hospital care and a care package had been put in place. Unfortunately, the provisions of the package did not suit the defendant who was refusing to leave hospital until the package was changed to suit her requirements.

The case is interesting because a 90 day stay on possession proceedings has been introduced as part of the Covid 19 response, it turns out that this stay does not apply to hospital beds – perhaps we can all see that there might be a good reason for that? The case is of huge practical value to hospitals who now know that they can discharge patients in similar circumstances.

The defendant had claimed that ejecting her from hospital (even in the light of the care package which was in place) would breach her human rights under Articles 3 (to take reasonable steps to prevent suffering) and 8 (right of respect for family and private life) of the ECHR. The court found that Article 3 was not engaged because the hospital had lawfully decided that other patients were in greater clinical need and that interference with Article 8 was acceptable because of the need to protect other patients.

If you’re writing an essay looking at the relevant articles of ECHR you might want to reflect on the wider ramifications of this case. Would it help hospitals in the light of decisions that might have to be made around who gets to receive intensive care support and who gets a ventilator?