September 14, 2025
Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] UKHL 17 (04 February 1993)
Anthony Bland was left in a persistent vegetative state after the Hillsborough disaster with no prospect of recovery. The NHS Trust sought declarations permitting discontinuation of artificial feeding. The House of Lords held that withdrawing life-sustaining treatment was lawful where it no longer benefited the patient, as there was no duty to continue futile medical care. Facts Anthony Bland, aged 17, suffered catastrophic brain damage at the Hillsborough football disaster in April 1989. His cerebral cortex was destroyed, leaving him in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). He had no cognitive function, could not see, hear, feel pain or communicate, though
