Relief as Javid backs Billy plea for cannabis oil
THE mother of a severely epileptic boy has told of her relief after the Home Secretary used an “exceptional power” to give him medicinal cannabis. Charlotte Caldwell, 50, tried to bring the medication, which is being used to treat her 12-year-old son Billy’s seizures, into Heathrow Airport on Monday, but it was confiscated by border officials.
PA
Without the treatment his condition worsened and he was rushed to hospital on Friday.
Yesterday Home Secretary Sajid Javid used his powers to “urgently issue” a licence to treat Billy with cannabis oil as it is a “medical emergency”.
He said: “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.”
This is a very complex situation, but our immediate priority is making sure Billy receives the most effective treatment possible in a safe way
A family spokesman said the medication was on its way to London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital early yesterday afternoon.
Ms Caldwell said they had “achieved the impossible”, adding that the “cruel experience” had affected Billy.
“His little body has been completely broken and his little mind,” she said.
“I truly believe that somewhere in the Home Office there’s someone with a heart and I truly believe that Billy was pulling on their heart strings.
“My experience leaves me in no doubt that the Home Office can no longer play a role in the administration of medication for sick children in our country.”
On Monday, Ms Caldwell and Billy, from Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, flew into Heathrow with a six-month supply of the medication from Toronto, Canada.
Speaking from the hospital yesterday she said they were “praying for a miracle”.
But, she added, the Home Office had been working with the family “extremely hard” throughout the night to negotiate access to the medication.
Ms Caldwell credits the oil with keeping her son’s seizures at bay, saying he was seizure-free for more than 300 days while using it.
Billy 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 O’Hare, began writing scripts. Dr O’Hare was summoned to a meeting with Home Office officials recently and was told to stop.