AN NHS trust will go to the High Court this week in an attempt to secure the right to let a severely ill baby die in defiance of the wishes of her parents.

Charlotte Wyatt was born three months early at St Mary’s hospital, Portsmouth, in October last year weighing just one pound and measuring the length of a ballpoint pen.

She has never left hospital, has stopped breathing several times because of serious heart and lung problems, and doctors say she cannot survive in the long term because her organs are so badly damaged.

In August doctors decided her prognosis was so poor that, if her condition deteriorated again, it would not be in her best interests to put her back on a ventilator. Instead, they wanted her parents to agree that she should be made as comfortable as possible until they arrived to be with her, so that her last hours were peaceful.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs St Mary’s, is supporting the stance taken by its medical experts and is seeking a High Court ruling allowing them not to resuscitate Charlotte.

Hospital lawyers want the two-day case, beginning on Thursday, to be held behind closed doors but Charlotte’s parents want it to be in open court, arguing that it raises issues of public importance.

A decision will be taken at a preliminary hearing of the High Court Family Division tomorrow. Charlotte’s parents, both devout Christians, have agreed not to make further comment pending the hearing.

The deadlock between the parents and the hospital has been building up for more than two months. At the end of August, Charlotte’s mother, Debbie, 23, a care worker in an old people’s home, said: “There have been several times when we thought we would lose Charlotte and we prepared ourselves for the worst.

“She only had the growth of a 19-week baby when she was born at 26 weeks. She was tiny, she weighed one pound and was about five inches long, but she is such a fighter.

“The doctors thought she was really bad and we were going to lose her. She has collapsed three times but each time she has recovered. At the moment she seems okay.

“If we can keep her going, that is what we want to do, because all the time she is getting stronger. They are not going to change our minds about wanting to keep her alive.”

Wyatt said she and her husband, Darren, a chef, had been in constant negotiation with the doctors in an effort to persuade them that Charlotte’s life was worthwhile.

Earlier this month, Darren Wyatt said: “We cannot believe what the hospital wants to do. We are going to fight them all the way.”

The views of medical staff were contained in the minute of a meeting between doctors and the Wyatts. These stated: “The trust would be prepared to go to the courts rather than send Charlotte to the intensive care unit. From past experience the court would . . . feel that doctors cannot be forced to treat a child in a way they believe to be against the child’s best interests, despite the wishes of the parents.”

Both the hospital and Charlotte’s parents will provide independent expert medical opinion at the hearing this week.

Until the court ruling, doctors will have to continue to treat Charlotte.

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