COVID-19 and vacating a hospital bed

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v MB (Rev 1) [2020] EWHC 882 (QB)

This decision of the High Court in the United Kingdom, is readily relatable in the current pandemic.

In circumstances where a patient refused to vacate a hospital bed and threatened to kill herself if she did not receive the community care package she requested upon discharge, the Court in requiring the patient to vacate her hospital bed the next day noted “in the context of the current public health emergency, the consequence of relief not being granted may be that another patient … who, unlike MB, needs in-patient care – may not be able to receive that care. For every day that MB remains where she currently is, the risk of another patient being affected in that way increases.”

The case can be found here:  https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2020/882.html