Two families who want to reveal the names of doctors involved in the treatment of their late children have won the latest round of a legal battle.

The two children involved, Zainab Abbasi and Isaiah Haastrup, were at the centre of life-support treatment disputes in the Family Division of the High Court in London.

Judges who oversaw hearings made orders barring doctors involved in the children’s care from being named in reports of the disputes.

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The parents of Zainab – Rashid Abbasi and his wife Aliya, who are both doctors – and the parents of Isaiah – Lanre Haastrup and Takesha Thomas – want those orders lifted.

Three Court of Appeal judges on Friday ruled in their favour.

Lord Burnett, the Lord Chief Justice, Lady Justice King and Lady Justice Carr had considered arguments at a Court of Appeal hearing in London in November.

The parents had tried to get the orders lifted at a High Court hearing in 2021.

Hospital trusts involved in the care of the two children – Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – had argued that reporting restrictions should stay in place.

Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the Family Division of the High Court, and the most senior family court judge in England and Wales, dismissed the families’ bids.

The judge said the issue related to whether a reporting restriction order could be continued for a “significant time” after the child at the centre of proceedings had died.

He concluded that High Court judges had the jurisdiction to consider the continuance of reporting restriction orders made in each case.

The three appeal judges have allowed the two families’ appeals against that ruling.

The two trusts have yet to say whether they will challenge the appeal court ruling in the Supreme Court.

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Appeal judges said the reporting restrictions would remain until decisions had been made about any Supreme Court challenge.

Judges heard that Zainab had been born on June 27 2013 with a “rare and profoundly disabling” inherited neurodegenerative condition.

She had died in September 2019, when six, after the Newcastle trust had asked a judge to decide what moves were in her best interests but before a trial took place.

Isaiah was born at King’s College Hospital in London on February 18 2017.

He died in March 2018, when 12 months old, after a judge had ruled that ending treatment was in his best interests.

Isaiah had suffered brain damage during birth.

Hospital bosses subsequently apologised to his parents and said “improvements have been made” to its maternity service.

Lord Burnett said in a written appeal ruling that Zainab and Isaiah’s parents had made criticisms of medics.

“Since Zainab’s death, her parents have remained critical of Newcastle’s treatment of their daughter,” he said.

“Their complaints are both systemic (concerning the regime operated in the paediatric intensive care unit) and operational (relating to individual members of staff).

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“They consider that the unit is so dysfunctional that the care of its patients is compromised.

“Other families will have been affected as they have been.

“They wish to publicise the care given to Zainab and to name those involved. They hope that, by bringing these matters to the more general attention of the public, an investigation will follow, resulting in radical change.”

He added: “Isaiah’s parents have been critical of King’s care surrounding Isaiah’s birth. King’s accepted liability for his brain injury and have settled the parents’ claim for compensation.

“An inquest, which will focus on the circumstances of his birth, was opened but was adjourned in July 2020 pending clarification of the scope of the reporting restrictions.”