Baby denied treatment by NHS because family have overstayed

[wonderstuff]

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/13/erbs-palsy-baby-sanika-ahmed-denied-treatment-_n_2866288.html

Baby will be permanently disabled, losing use of one arm if she isn't treated soon. NHS trust are refusing treatment, because although the baby was born here her fathers work visa ran out several years ago. They are being supported by an uncle. I think that the child should be treated, she is innocent and I'm really saddened by the number of people posting comments by this article saying they agree with the NHS stance on this.

What do you think?

Statutory duty care is access to emergency medicine.not automatic access to non emergency care
The trust has correctly applied the rules as I read it

Alistair but then it has a duty of care to an extra million people living here illegally. Where does the money come from?

Morally, of course she should be treated. Legally and practically? No.

No duty care as been breached.the rules have been applied
The aghast amongst you could raise funds,pay for treatment.set up a fund
Hospital would accept payment for the treatment.maybe do just giving page

Trazzle I don't think the NHS has a duty to treat her. I think the people who want her treated (me included) should put their hands in their pockets and donate what her treatment is worth to them. And then the next illegal immigrant/child of II who needs treatment...and the next...and the next

Sorry, that should have read a moral duty to her.
We, as society have a moral duty towards her maybe. The NHS has no more duty towards her than tesco.

I agree with you, Trazzle, I really do.

I just can't look at it intellectually without thinking "It's just a little baby"

(which is one of the many reasons I'm not in Politics etc)

Or to put it another why. why shouldn't a private hospital treat her? Why aren't we all up in arms about that? Why does the NHS get to be "bad guy"?
Realistically, anyone could pay for her treatment. Yet it seems as though the NHS is expected to.

I agree AS. But then we either need to vote for whichever politicians stand for free healthcare for absolutely all, or deal with it on a case by case basis

Nhs has historically provided care for anyone who needed it in this country and that has hardly bankrupted the system.

NHS is a bloated, inefficient organisations, and it is not illegal immigrants that are making it so. It is the management, corruption and inefficient.

Like I said, if any of you take any benefits from the state, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. You want freebies for yourself, but will deny others. Frankly, this child, who is blameless, is more morally entitled to state handouts than most of the lazy work-shirkers on benefits

Sit on a continuing care panel and have to decide whether to treat old people to keep them alive for a few years with expensive drugs, it's hard but decisions have to be made and they should be made within the boundaries of the law and not with bleeding hearts.

Sit on a continuing care panel and have to decide whether to treat old people to keep them alive for a few years with expensive drugs, it's hard but decisions have to be made and they should be made within the boundaries of the law and not with bleeding hearts.

It is a shame for the little girl but the NHS does not have a bottomless pit of money - that is the cold hard fact of the matter.

Her parents are responsible for her health, not the NHS (UK taxpayer). We cannot afford to fund health care for anyone who chooses to live here illegally, we just can't. If we are seen to do that for this little girl, where will it end?

Alistair - Why? Her parents have a duty of care, not UK taxpayers.

She was born here to parents who are illegal immigrants - treating her will encourage other overstayers/illegal immigrants and we can't have that - our NHS is stretched beyond its limits already :(

The story confuses me. The father worked for a year between 2008 and 2009. What has he been doing since? Why didn't he apply for leave to remain back then?

Is he working? How? They've got 2 other kids - how do they pay for them?

The child was born 8 months ago. The hospital asked the parents for proof of status shortly after, but their status has only be confirmed now, with one month to go. It seems as if the family ignored the hospital for 3 months - what were they doing in that time?

The family have only applied for leave to remain now, why not apply when child was first diagnosed?

Have the parents done anything to try to fundraise themselves? Do they have any friends? Couldn't they fundraise for them? A friends child born with CP require treatment in USA to help him walk - the NHS couldn't/wouldn't fund it. In 6 months we had raised £78,000 - enough for the treatment, airfare and continuing care back home. He is walking now - it's like a miracle.

I feel annoyed that the NHS/PCT are taking all the blame here, when surely the honourable thing for the family to do is to shoulder some of it themselves. I think the family need to be proactive and instead of complaining that the NHS won't help, should go out and DO something themselves. £10,000 shouldn't be that hard to raise.

So what you going to do Alistair?opine we all pay?or you could fund raise
Can you Give what you can afford?set up standing order fund
You lead by example then,donate what yo can afford to the wee baby treatment

I am sure if it was a middle aged man or woman who need the operation no one would give two shits

Flatbread,Alistair,set up a just giving page.fund raise if you feel so strongly

Ir would be very inefficient of the hospital to treat the child without a payment route. The fact that this decision has been made is actually a mark of efficiency.

Contrary to what flatbread apparently believes NHS managers don't sit around swilling champers and thinking up new and interesting ways to make ickle babies suffer.

SPB I'm in total agreement with you!

I probably used the wrong words. What I meant is that it's shit that any child in the world has to go without treatment which could be available to them.

This could be Joseph at any time due to the NHS potentially not offering treatment that he may need.

As a parent, I think it sucks that a child lives (albeit illegally) in a country where treatment exists but she can't access it.

I agree that the NHS is not, and should not be, responsible for her care though.

Someone said that it should be easy for the parents to raise £10,000. I doubt that. Illegal immigrants don't tend to have a large support base and most people they know will either also be illegal or be on very low incomes. Although now it has been in the press, that's by the by. I don't think they would be able to raise it themselves though.

I am ex nhs staff and know for a fact how tight money is. Even ordering pens and paper etc.
northern are you sure you don't get the champers out in those meetings [grins]

I challenge any of the nhs managers/ clinicians are crap crew to shadow for week
Make the call about funding homecare,treatments,staffing, the next quarter budget
It's easy to opine about nhs but actually do sweet fa yourself.if you think this deserves funding, be proactive and fundraise

Eve there's every chance that the parents did apply for leave to remain when the girl was born. It can take months to get a decision.

Agree with that.

sorry tha was to trazzl

Islam has a strong tradition of giving to charity, it's one of the 5 pillars.
Perhaps some of the oil rich nations such as UAE and Saudi Arabia could sponsor a poorer one instead of building enormous structures and buying golden trinkets.
They could start by sponsoring this child.

Well has any of the aghast who think nhs should pay actually donated or fundraised?