Key Legal and Ethical Topics

Dr Victoria Metaxa

Consultant in Critical Care, King's College Hospital

Dr Victoria Metaxa is a full-time Critical Care and Major Trauma Consultant, at King’s College Hospital in London. She is a King's College London Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, and has a PhD in neurosciences and an MA in Medical Ethics and Palliative Care from Keele University. Her clinical interests include bioethics, end-of-life care, critical care outreach and the management of patients with haematological malignancies. Dr Metaxa is a member of the European Society of Intensive Care (ESICM) Ethics section, and the representative of the section in the e-learning committee. She is the UK National Outreach Forum board Secretary and a member of the Legal and Ethical Advisory Group of the UK Intensive Care Society (ICS).  

Dr Thearina de Beer

Consultant Intensivist and Anaesthesia, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Dr Thearina de Beer MBChB FRCA DICM FFICM LLM (Health Law) RCPathME , is a Consultant in Anaesthetics and ICM including Neuro-ICM at Nottingham University Hospitals. Thearina is currently Divisional Director for the Clinical Support Division. She is a Medical Examiner at NUH and is deputy lead ME for NUH. She is on the ICS – Legal and Ethical Advisory Group. Her special interests are delirium and the impact on long stay patients, legal and ethical issues around critical and neuro-critical care.

Dan Harvey

Professor of Intensive Care Medicine , UK

Dr Dan Harvey is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at Nottingham University Hospitals, Hon. Professor at the University of Nottingham, and a member of the UK Intensive Care Society Legal & Ethical Advisory Group. Dan has an active research interest as National Lead for Innovation & Research in Organ Donation for NHS Blood and Transplant, and joint Chief Investigator for the SIGNET study, the world's largest interventional study in organ donation.

Rob Tobin

Partner, Kennedys Law

Rob is a medical lawyer with over 25 years’ experience. He leads Kennedys’ large healthcare team in Cambridge and is the firm’s Head of Medical Law. He is a strong advocate of advance care planning, keen to ensure autonomy and the individual remain at the heart of all medical decision-making. He advises NHS Trusts on all aspects of medical law, including medical negligence litigation; serious medical treatment decisions; end of life decisions; deprivation of liberty; judicial reviews; consent and capacity to treatment; and mental health law. He and his team advocate on behalf of healthcare organisations at coroners’ inquests, including complex Article 2 and Jury inquests. Rob lectures on mental health; mental capacity; medical treatment decisions; inquests; deprivation of liberty; and consent and writes articles on these subjects. He is the legal advisor to the Intensive Care Society’s Legal, Ethics and Advisory Group and is a member of the Cambridge University Hospital ethics committee. He sat on the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ Working Group drafting the 2025 Code of Practice for the definition and confirmation of death (2025). During the pandemic, Rob advised the National Executive Critical Care Committee on legal and ethical issues concerned with the treatment of patients in the NHS. Rob is a Trustee of North London Hospice.

Recent case highlights include:

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Ors v Tooke & Ors – Rob acted for 2 NHS Trusts in this case concerning Jordan Tooke, a 29 year old man with learning disabilities in need of dialysis and a kidney transplant, provision of which would potentially require restraint and sedation (up to GA) 3 times a week.

Patricia's Father & Ors v Patricia (by her litigation friend, the Official Solicitor) & Ors [2025] EWCOP 30 (T3) - Rob acted for the mental health trust in this high profile matter concerning a young person with a severe eating disorder alongside a personality disorder. The case concerned whether long term enforced treatment, to include restraint for NG feeding, could be provided in her best interests.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (1) and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (2) v RD 2022 – acting for the Trusts where a young adult in her mid-20s had fluctuating capacity. She was in a cycle of self-harm to such extent the High Court agreed it was in her best interests to provide no further lifesaving treatment in the event she self-harmed again and required such treatment, despite the fact life-saving treatment was available.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v AH 2021 - Rob acted for the Trust in the very high profile case obtaining a declaration it was no longer in P’s best interests to receive ventilatory support and it was lawful for that to be withdraw. This case went to the Court of Appeal and concerned a 56 year old patient, who “in terms of the neurological impact and complications” was described as “the most complex COVID-19 patient in the world”.

Tafida Raqeeb v Barts Health NHS Trust and others 2019 – Rob acted for Barts in complex Judicial Review and medical treatment case concerning withdrawal of life sustaining treatment for 5 year old Muslim child, whose parents sought to take her to Italy for ongoing medical treatment.

Anna Conway Morris

Consultant Psychiatrist in Eating disorders

Dr ACM is a consultant psychiatrist in eating disorders at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge. She is a trained child psychiatrist and neurodevelopmental specialist who now works in an adult eating disorders service with a large student population. Dr ACM is the head of school for psychiatry in the East of England and the vice chair of the Eastern Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Her research interest is in compulsive behaviour.

: @AconwayM