Rabone v Pennine Care NHS Trust
Jul 09
[2009] EWHC 1827 (QB)
On 23 July 2009 the High Court (Simon J) gave judgment in a test case about the application of Article 2 ECHR to mental health patients who are in hospital on a voluntary basis. He held, in Rabone v Pennine Care NHS Trust, that the operational duty to protect life did not apply in relation to a non-detained patient who had committed suicide when on home leave, as she had not been subject to the coercive powers of the state. Monica Carss-Frisk QC and Jane Mulcahy acted for the Defendant NHS Trust.