Rabone v Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust

The Court of Appeal deals with the important issue, left open by the House of Lords in Savage v South Essex NHS Trust, of whether the 'operational obligation' to protect life under Article 2 of the ECHR is capable of being engaged in relation to the suicide of a voluntary mental health patient who is not detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.  It decided that there was an important distinction between those who are detained and those who are not and the operational obligation would only come into play in relation to patients who are detained. Monica Carss-Frisk QC and Jane Mulcahy successfully represented the Respondent NHS Trust.