Government 'u-turn' praised amid scrutiny
A government u-turn to provide a life-enhancing drug for a seriously ill boy has been praised.
Eight-year-old Finley Hesketh has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - a muscle-wasting disease which has no known cure.
His family campaigned successfully for the health department to fund the £180,000-a-year treatment Translarna after initially being refused the drug.
The move to provide the drug came under scrutiny this week, at a committee investigating the Department of Health and Social Care's £11 million overspend.
Minister Kate Beecroft explained she made the decision to reverse the department's stance and provide Translana, without the advice of a board of clinicians.
Mrs Beecroft told the committee that denying Finley treatment would've made the Island appear 'miserly'.
Mum Kirstie describes her son as a 'treasure beyond price':
Senior doctors and consultants call for intervention amid 'critical shortfall in bed capacity' at Noble's Hospital
Rolling delays see Manxman sailings cancelled
Ban for Norfolk electrician caught drug driving
Assisted dying bill receiving 'due attention it deserves' in UK
Faulty device believed to have triggered multi-agency search effort
Comments
Add a comment