To be shocked that charges have been dropped and Cameron is tweeting happiness about Ayasha case

[Albertatata]

Shocked generally at the way this has been reported. So distrustful of both the medics and police when at the end of the day the parents removed their ill child, took them to a different country without any medical handover, starting an international search and now David Cameron is tweeting that he is relieved charges aren't being brought!

It is undoubtfully a terrible terrible situation but there is a way to behave and this isn't it. Fine if you want to sell your house and access medical care in another country do it, but do it with the guidance and cooperation of the medical team looking after him. Don't bloody run off with him to another country & not tell anyone.

Prepared to be flamed but the fact of the matter is that we have only heard the families side of things and medical team are limited by confidentially.

I won't say what I'd like to op as I don't want to be banned. By the grace of god and all that.

What I read is that this little boy has 4 months to live, given that heart breaking news must be devastating.

If my child was giving that time frame I know deep in my gut that I would do anything to keep them alive. I could cope with prison a criminal record and even SS involvement for the rest of my life. I couldn't cope with the guilt of not trying for a treatment that could work.

I have read many times that I would die for my child, or I would walk over hot coal and broken glass for my child. Is that just something people say or do they actually mean it.

Love and strength to the King family.

What were they supposed to do if it couldn't be done with the guidance and cooperation of the medical team?

They could have told the medical team what they planned to do and requested their support, and they could have waited till they actually had the treatment organised. If the Southampton hospital wanted to go ahead with their own planned therapy, the parents could have refused consent. Then, if the hospital went to court about it - which is by no means certain - they could have brought their evidence about PBT and let the court decide.

Throughout that process, their child would have been left in hospital with his family present and access to expert medical care fro the people they had trusted to do brain surgery on him. He wouldn't have had to spend hours driving across Europe with the risk that if anything went wrong his life could be in danger.

Might that just possibly have been better?

Well arnt you fab for starting a thread up trying to condemn the parents of a seriously ill little boy, who's parents were at their wits end because they did t take the advice of the doctors that there was nothing left to do

That is not what the doctors advised.

So you're shocked charges have been dropped even though they committed no offence? They've done nothing wrong. All they want is what's best for their son.

As for that ham faced idiot, he needs a bandwagon right now, he's toast at the election. The useless money grabbing thieving cunt.

I think the NHS come out of all this poorly. Fact is that communication broke down massively and parents who were devastated by the diagnosis and prognosis for their sone were made to feel as though they were backed into a corner with nowhere to turn.

I don't blame the police, they acted only on the information they had been given. That information was that a seriously ill child had been removed from hospital and nobody knew what care was being given to him. They had a duty of care to that child....as did the hospital at that point to ascertain that he was safe.

This has now been ascertained, he is being cared for therefore the charges have been dropped and the police have announced they see no further role.

YABU OP but YANBU also.....we won't hear he hospitals side due to confidentiality issues.

What I DO suspect having worked in hospitals is that there was a disagreement between the consultants and parents regarding treatment and that perhaps the communication skills used were not the best. This family are in a dreadful situation and felt their only option was to remove their child.

It's a pity though that they did not leave any communication to say "we have left because......and the arrangements we have made for Ashya's care are....." .

We would not then have had the major police hunt which took place,. Then again if they left in a panic I can quite understand why they didn't do this.

YABU. They researched their options and chose to seek alternative private treatment for their son abroad which the NHS wasn't prepared to fund- just as many parents have done before without any bother from the authorities

That's not the issue. The parents were prepared to fund it themselves. The hospital has said that it was perfectly happy for them to do so. The issue seems mainly to have been that the doctor didn't reply to an email about that. That isn't great, but you have to bear in mind that this is a doctor treating a number of very seriously ill patients, he may have been in theatre for long periods of time, and maybe his emails weren't highest on his list of priorities. Also, I'm afraid, the reality is that NHS bureaucracy is such that it does take some time for things like letters to be produced.

Might it just possibly have been better for them to push the hospital on this and to get on with raising the funds rather than taking their child all over Europe without telling anyone what they were doing and what arrangements they had made to look after Ashya?

"Nobody knows bugger all about this situation over than the parents ran off, without organising any medical handover or future medical care for their sick child and started an international search."

Actually we do know a little more than that. Firstly they did have plans for future medical care, secondly they didn't start an international search, the police did. Thirdly we know that the parents had been threatened with an injunction if they didn't co-operate with the hospital (IE the hospital were threatening to bar them from seeing their sick child) and we also know the hospital lied about the immediate danger to the child's life.

I'm sure we'll find out more in the next few days but at first glance, your OP looks as precipitous as DC's tweets.

Well I expect the CPS know a bit more about it than you do, OP, so maybe save your ire.

This is an idiotic, ill considered and ill informed OP.

Good luck to the parents and their very obviously fine family. The eldest sons are terrific But the medics in Southampton should be ashamed at calling in the police.

Medics should be capable of compassion, and more concerned with that than propping up their own self esteem. I hope that the little boy gets some miracle treatment first and foremost but after that I hope this case teaches medics to listen to families more and not just bulldoze ahead. Such thinly disguised vanity exposed.

Very, very best wishes to the Kings.

YABU and misinformed. Also there are other threads on this topic on the front page of AIBU, why start another goady one?

The parents were threatened with losing parental rights if they discharged the child, even though the NHS had said he was going to die anyway.

That's not what the father claimed - he said that they had been threatened with a court order just for questioning the medics and seeking a second opinion. And frankly I don't believe it - I suspect he misunderstood. The hospital couldn't possibly have got a court order on those grounds and they would have known it; and they would also have known that these were clued-up parents who were checking the information they were given.

And the NHS weren't saying he was going to die anyway. They were proposing treatment that has an 80% success rate.

That's not the issue. The parents were prepared to fund it themselves. The hospital has said that it was perfectly happy for them to do so.

The hospital is saying that NOW. It is clear from Mr King that they were saying something else to him, which is why he felt forced to flee. It is funny how you are prepared to believe everything the hospital says, as if they would never have a reason to lie.

Icimoi You are right in saying that the order would not have been granted. Does that mean that the doctor who was questioned didnt say it? A threat is something you use to get someone to do what you want, I expect that the Dr thought they would say "Oh ok, we will do as we are told", but that didnt happen. And he didnt not respond to one email but several.

The proton treatment would damage less of the brain, so much better quality of life.

What I don't get is what did the doctors supposed to do.

Child was taken out of hospital.
Parents didn't let hospital know they are not returning.

Do you think doctors had legal right NOT TO INTERVENE?

Please all those who are saying parents were right to do it explain to me why you think doctor shouldn't intervene if underage patient disappears from their hospital bed?

Should they allow us discharge our kids at our whims?

I do not know if the parents' action was right for their son, but they are not criminals and I am delighted that they will now be allowed to be with their little boy again.

I despise Cameron, but I think his reaction to this story was entirely natural. As a parent who lost a child at a similar age to Ashya, he would inevitably feel that the parents should be with their child. I think it would be hard for anyone to argue otherwise!

Oh and further to my above post, the trust is saying they can get further treatment, that they can get a second opinion. It wasnt the trust that threatened them with getting Ashya made a ward of court, it was the doctor.

The trust are currently trying to get some damage limitation for what one "God complex" doctor took it upon himself to say, it seems to me.

The UK has one of the worst cancer survival rates in Europe and one of the highest death rates for Under-fives, for whom cancer is a leading cause of death, so it's not crazy to go abroad for more advanced treatment.^

You may well right, but that's not what they did, is it? They took Ashya to a country which also doesn't offer it, with some sort of vague plan about raising the money, after which he would have been hauled off for another long journey.

The hospital couldn't possibly have got a court order on those grounds and they would have known it; and they would also have known that these were clued-up parents who were checking the information they were given.

The hospital still may have threatened a court order, regardless of whether they thought they could actually get one. Just the threat would be enough to get a lot of people to fall in line. Even if the parents are very savvy, if they thought the were being put in a position where had to do what the doctor said and pursue a treatment they didn't agree with or face losing their rights, they might not take the time do research whether the hospital could really do that.

It's not as though medical professionals ever bully anyone is it?

Oh, wait...

It is an awful situation and we are never going to know what really happened, as no doubt the truth is somewhere in the middle. However what is unacceptable is that the parents should not be in a situation where they feel they are not being listened to and consultants should have the time to discuss options, how to get a second opinion and how to go privately if parents wish so the child gets the best treatment possible and the none of this would have happened. Having been with family members discussing treatment with consultants, they often want to move quickly, you are a bit shell shocked, and you forget half of what you are told and the questions you think of later and it can then be difficult to get any answers as consultants are very busy, and it is so easy to see why the parents felt they had no option.

And actually instead of some posters being rude to each other, we should all be getting together to campaign for more support for parents in this situation to prevent any more people to have to go through what Ashya's parents have gone through and actually make some good come out of this situation and leave the family in peace.

Actually we do know a little more than that. Firstly they did have plans for future medical care, secondly they didn't start an international search, the police did. Thirdly we know that the parents had been threatened with an injunction if they didn't co-operate with the hospital (IE the hospital were threatening to bar them from seeing their sick child) and we also know the hospital lied about the immediate danger to the child's life.

They didn't have definite and organised plans for future medical care, and didn't have finance in place. In particular they don't seem to have had any real plan for interim care for the indefinite period whilst they got things organised.

Of course they started the international search. Would it have happened if they stayed put? The hospital and police really had no choice but to search when Ashya disappeared, and would have been strongly criticised if they'd done nothing.

We don't know that that threat was made: we only have the father's word for it. Even if the hospital had applied for an injunction, the parents would have had the opportunity to oppose it, and (on the basis of what teh father says about the threat) would undoubtedly have succeeded.

The hospital didn't lie about the immediate danger. They did not know that the parent had feed, they did say that the machine could be plugged in, but they did not know whether it could be plugged in when the family was travelling.