Speakers
Dr Victoria Metaxa
Rabbi Miriam Berger
Iman Yunus Dudhwala
Dr Thearina de Beer
Reverend Canon Dr Mark Bratton
Rob Tobin
LEAG
Discussions about spirituality and religious beliefs may induce anxiety in healthcare professionals managing day-to-day care, especially around the end of life. Lack of familiarity and understanding of how different religions impact decision-making around limitations of treatment are also frequent in critical care.
This symposium hosted by the Legal and Ethical Group of the Intensive Care Society explores the main faiths in the UK and will allow healthcare professionals to pause and reflect on delivering effective and culturally competent care and communication.
10:00 – 10:30 Registration and coffee
10:30 – 10:40 Introduction of the day
10:45 – 11:00 Setting the scene
11:05 – 12:45 View of different religions on:
(The panel will include faith representatives in the UK)
12:45 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 15:00 Practical approach (round table)
15:00 – 15:15 Coffee/ Tea
15:15 – 15:45 Religion and best interests
15:45 – 16:45 Practical tips for culturally sensitive communication
16:45 – 17:00 Close
Miriam’s 18 years in the congregational rabbinate led her to the founding of Wellspring and now works full time on bringing it to life. Wellspring is a centre of wellbeing with the ritual of mikveh at its heart. Previously, she doubled the size of Finchley Reform and made it a flagship synagogue of the Reform Movement. Her creativity and innovation led to pioneering endeavours in education, prayer services and pastoral work as well as hitting the headlines throughout the pandemic with novel ways of engaging her community whilst keeping them safe.
Imam Yunus Dudhwala holds a B.A. in the traditional Islamic Studies, from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.
Imam Yunus started his career in chaplaincy over 25 years ago. In 2003, he became the first person from a minority faith to lead a chaplaincy team in the NHS at Newham Hospital, East London. He is currently Head of Chaplaincy at Barts Health NHS Trust. He was named Healthcare Hero/NHS Employee of the Year 2010 at the HEAL Awards, hosted by 24/7 Media Group.
Throughout his career, he has spoken at national and international conferences organised by the European Network for Healthcare Chaplaincy, the College of Healthcare Chaplains, Cruse Bereavement Care, Child Bereavement UK, Brake Road Safety Charity, and National Scottish Police Association, to name a few.
He is the Head of Islamic Guidance for the NHS Muslim Health Network. He is a Trustee of the Muslim Bereavement Support Service which he helped to set up and is the principal trainer for the volunteers of the organisation. He supports many other organisations as adviser and trainer.
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.
Mark Bratton was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, and educated in England. He holds undergraduate degrees (or their equivalent) in history, law, and theology, as well as graduate degrees in medical ethics and law. His PhD explored judicial understandings of autonomy in ethically contentious medical law cases. Following a brief career as a barrister, which included a stint as a project research assistant at the Law Commission, Mark trained as an Anglican priest, serving in university and parish settings. He is currently Rector of St John Baptist Berkswell, near Coventry. He has represented the Diocese of Coventry on General Synod, the Church of England's parliament, twice and led a project exploring the ethical, legal, scientific, and theological dimensions of advances in human genome science (cf. God, Ethics, and the Human Genome, CHP 2009). He is a regular reviewer for the Journal of Contemporary Religion. Mark has served on several ethics committees, including the Warwick University Health and Social Sciences Ethics Committee, the Warwick University Animal Welfare Board, and the Coventry Research Ethics Committee. He is currently the non-clinical Co-Chair of the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Ethics Forum. Mark has a special interest in the relationship between religion, ethics, and 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.
Prafula Shah is a living kidney donor and a leader from the Jain community, known for her work in promoting interfaith awareness and humanitarian efforts both in the UK and internationally.
Born in Nairobi and raised in India and the UK, Prafula has a deep passion for religious studies and an appreciation for all faiths, as well as those without faith.
As a communications professional she has worked for some of UK’s best know brands and public sector organisations including the Royal Courts of Justice as a Media Manager for Appeal Court Judges.
After donating a kidney to her niece in 2018, she became an organ donation ambassador for NHS Blood & Transplant for London & the South East. Prafula was invited to join the Jain and Hindu Organ Donation Steering Group as Secretary in 2019 and now serves as Chair of the Jain & Hindu Organ Donation Alliance – a charity working to raise awareness of blood, stem cell, and organ donation across the UK. Through outreach and online engagement, the charity fosters strong connections with community organisations and champions within the Jain and Hindu communities.