Home UK Epileptic boy to be given cannabis treatment

Epileptic boy to be given cannabis treatment

396
0

A severely epileptic boy is to be allowed cannabis treatment after the Home Office backed down on banning it.

Charlotte Caldwell attempted to bring in medicinal cannabis oil to the UK for her 12-year-old son Billy but it was confiscated at Heathrow Airport on Monday after a flight from Canada.

He was taken to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Friday after the frequency of his seizures increased.

Ms Caldwell said on Saturday that Billy had two seizures overnight but he was now stable and asleep.

She said: "Billy had two more seizures overnight which is putting him further into a crisis situation."

A family spokesman said the Home Office has released the medicinal cannabis oil, which is now on its way to the hospital.

In a statement, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: "This morning, I've used an exceptional power as home secretary to urgently issue a licence to allow Billy Caldwell to be treated with cannabis oil.

"This is a very complex situation, but our immediate priority is making sure Billy receives the most effective treatment possible in a safe way.

"We have been in close contact with Billy's medical team overnight and my decision is based on the advice of senior clinicians who have made clear this is a medical emergency.

"The policing minister met with the family on Monday and since then has been working to reach an urgent solution."

Image: Charlotte and Billy Caldwell

Prior to the Home Office announcement, Ms Caldwell had said: "This medicine was anti-epilepsy medicine. He has to have it every day. He needs it as soon as possible. We are hoping for a resolution today.

"I am confident we are going to get this done. The medical teams are working closely with the Home Office. We are praying for a miracle."

Sinn Féin MP Órfhlaith Begley welcomed confirmation that Billy would now get his treatment.

She said: "Billy should never have been put in that position. The treatment was clearly working for him and he deteriorated badly once it ended, yet it still took intense lobbying to get the Home Office to reverse this cruel decision."

Ms Caldwell praised medical teams at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. She said: "The staff here have been amazing. He is getting the best medical care in the world. I cannot thank the staff at the hospital enough."

preview image 0:20
Video: Boy's cannabis refusal 'callous'

Billy, who is also autistic, with pronounced communication difficulties, suffered back-to-back seizures on Friday after being seizure-free for more than 300 days when he was previously given the cannabis oil, according to his family.

Billy, from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, was given a prescription for medicinal cannabis oil last year to help treat his epilepsy – the first time the drug had been prescribed by the NHS.

But the boy's doctor was told by Home Office drug enforcement teams to stop prescribing the medication, which Ms Caldwell credits with keeping her son's seizures at bay.

More from UK

The family had planned to return to Canada if they could not get the medicine in the UK but say Billy is now too ill to travel.

More follows…

Original Article

[contf]
[contfnew]

Sky News

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]

Previous articleRacist slurs written on teen’s school leaving shirt
Next articleSiemens wins $2 billion contract to build new London Tube trains