Campbell family’s plea to save Marcus taken to High Court after hospital’s care brought into question

Marucs Campbell. Pic: Please Save Marcus Campaign

Marucs Campbell. Pic: Please Save Marcus Campaign


The High Court has been asked to make a decision over the care of a young, Croydon father after weeks of campaigning by his family.

Marcus Campbell, 22, who has a rare brainstem inflammation, has been at Croydon University Hospital for a number of weeks. His family has accused staff of being “unprofessional and not compassionate.”

Marcus’s sister, Siobhan Chin, has told Eastlondonlines that the case is now being settled by the High Court. When asked for confirmation of this, Croydon Health Services Trust refused to comment.

When Marcus first visited the hospital he was diagnosed with an infection and sent home. He suffered a stroke the following day. Since being re-admitted for care, his family says he has caught two bugs from the hospital.

An online campaign to save Marcus was started after hospital staff allegedly told his family that if his heart should stop beating he would not be resuscitated. The family says this is against Marcus’ wishes.

Marcus’ family also expressed concern after they were apparently barred from visiting him and his mother was told she could not pray at his bedside.

A change.org petition to support Marcus has so far collected over 35,000 signatures. The campaign has also gained a lot of support on Facebook and on Twitter using the hashtag ‘#PleaseSaveMarcus’.

London born supermodel, Jourdan Dunn, re-tweeted the hashtag to her 191,000 followers and Croydon North MP, Steve Reed, has also tweeted his support. He has met with Marcus’s family and will raise their concerns with relevant NHS managers.

The family has set up a fundraising page to raise money for Marcus’ move to a specialist hospital, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and assist with their legal fees. The page has so far raised over £2,000.

Since the campaign began, protests have been held, including a demonstration with 100 people outside the hospital, which had to be guarded by police. Protestors’ chanted, “stop this injustice”, “save Marcus” and “Mayday murderers”, referencing the hospital’s previous name. Police were still stationed outside the hospital the following day.

Marcus’ sister said that the family feels he has been “pushed aside and left to die” and that the hospital is “dictating his life.”

She said, “Marcus is still fighting” and “his best interests have not been considered.”

“We are not oblivious to the fact that Marcus may die…but what have they [the hospital] got to lose from treating him?”

A Trust’s spokesperson said, “At this difficult time we are focused on doing all that we can to treat and care for Marcus. It is not appropriate for the Trust to respond to requests for confidential information about Marcus and the Trust’s relationship with his family, who we are continuing to support as best we can.”

 

 

 

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