Inquest - death in hospital - liability accepted - deceased's family seeking representation at inquest - funding should be available

R (Khan) v Secretary of State for Health: CA (Lords Justice Brooke, Waller and Clarke): 10 October 2003

N, aged 3, complained of earache and a discharge from her ear.

When her condition failed to respond to treatment she was admitted to hospital in Bradford.

It was discovered that her lymph nodes and her spleen had become enlarged.

She was transferred to St James's Hospital, Leeds.

A biopsy was carried out, and she was transferred to the intensive care unit.

A provisional diagnosis of B cell lymphoma was confirmed.

She began a course of chemotherapy.

Shortly after the chemotherapy began N suffered a heart attack and later died.

N's family wanted to be represented at the inquest but they were refused funding.

They applied for judicial review of that decision which was refused by Mr Justice Silber.

The father appealed.

Philip Havers QC (instructed by Freethcartwright, Nottingham) for Mr Khan; Nigel Giffin QC (instructed by the solicitor, Department of Health) for the secretary of state.

Held, allowing the appeal, that the secretary of state had power to make the necessary funding available; that either reasonable funding had to be made available at an inquest to ensure that the family was represented or to set up some other type of inquiry at which such funding would be possible; and that there would be a further hearing so that the possibilities of funding could be considered at which both the Lord Chancellor and Attorney-General should be represented.