A 12-year-old epileptic boy whose cannabis oil medication was confiscated by the Home Office this week has been admitted to hospital in a life-threatening condition.
Billy Caldwell was rushed to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on Friday after his epilepsy seizures intensified, a family statement said.
A batch of the drug used to treat him was confiscated from his mother Charlotte Caldwell at Heathrow Airport because it contains THC, which is a banned substance in the UK.
Ms Caldwell said the Home Office would be held accountable if he died.
She added: Billy has had back-to-back seizures today.
On his medication, which included the vital but banned THC component, he was seizure-free for more than 300 days.
Advertisement
Advertisement
She said her son was too ill to travel to Canada to get his medication.
If Billy dies, which is looking increasingly possible, then the Home Office, and (minister) Nick Hurd, will be held completely accountable, she added.
This is beyond cruelty. Weve now reached the point where Billy is too ill to travel to get his medication, but his medication is stored minutes away from where were now living in London.
Despite the best and honest efforts of the NHS, frontline doctors are fighting Billys condition with both hands tied behind their back because the only medication that will be effective is the cannabis oil (with a banned component).
She said the situation was described by doctors in Canada and Northern Ireland familiar with Billys case as life-threatening.
Man on mobility scooter runs over two old women and casually strolls off
The child, from Castlederg in County Tyrone, started the treatment in 2016 in the US, where medical marijuana is legal.
He became the first person in the UK to receive a prescription after his local GP in Northern Ireland, Brendan OHare, began writing scripts.
However, there is no record of a health service prescription being dispensed.
Dr OHare was summoned to a meeting with Home Office officials recently and told to desist.
Ms Caldwell made the trip to Toronto and back with Billy to get a six-month supply to treat up to 100 seizures a day, but said border officials seized the oil.
Advertisement
Advertisement
[contf]
[contfnew]
METRO
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
