Ontario Consent & Capacity Board Decides More Medical Futility Cases

Last year, some commentators observed a slowdown in end-of-life cases going to Ontario's Consent & Capacity Board. But the CCB has been busy in 2019.

For example, in PL, clinicians for a 36-year-old man determined that he had "no hope of recovering neurological function" following an incident in September 2015. Accordingly, clinicians proposed withdrawing invasive or aggressive treatments such as mechanical ventilation, vasoactive drugs, dialysis, surgery, and CPR.

PL's parents did not consent to that plan. But the CCB determined that the proposed treatment plan was in his best interest. Therefore, Pl's parents had no discretion to make different decisions.

Interestingly, multiple clinicians cared for PL between 2015 and 2019. The physician who ultimately applied to the CCB explained that no prior application had been made, because it was a "time consuming and draining process."