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13/06/2018
Home Office Called To Reverse Decision Over Billy Caldwell's Medication
The SDLP is urging the Home Office to reconsider its decision to allow 12-year-old Billy Caldwell's doctor to prescribe the cannabis oil he desperately needs.
His mother, Charlotte Caldwell from Co Tyrone, brought cannabis oil from Canada for her son, who has several seizures every day, however it was confiscated at Heathrow Airport.
She met with Home Office minister Nick Hurd to plead with him to get the oil back but he refused.
SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood said the battle for Billy’s lifesaving drug could be avoided if only the Home Office would let common sense prevail.
He continued: "As a parent I can only imagine the distress Charlotte Caldwell is going through as doors continue to close on her as she does everything in her power to keep her son alive.
"The medicine to alleviate Billy's epileptic fits should be readily available to him and not the subject of political dispute around the illegalities of drug misuse.
"I would urge the Home Office to reconsider its decision to allow Billy's GP to reinstate his prescription as a matter of urgency, to alleviate his pain, and to allow him to continue living his life to the fullest."
(CD/MH)
His mother, Charlotte Caldwell from Co Tyrone, brought cannabis oil from Canada for her son, who has several seizures every day, however it was confiscated at Heathrow Airport.
She met with Home Office minister Nick Hurd to plead with him to get the oil back but he refused.
SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood said the battle for Billy’s lifesaving drug could be avoided if only the Home Office would let common sense prevail.
He continued: "As a parent I can only imagine the distress Charlotte Caldwell is going through as doors continue to close on her as she does everything in her power to keep her son alive.
"The medicine to alleviate Billy's epileptic fits should be readily available to him and not the subject of political dispute around the illegalities of drug misuse.
"I would urge the Home Office to reconsider its decision to allow Billy's GP to reinstate his prescription as a matter of urgency, to alleviate his pain, and to allow him to continue living his life to the fullest."
(CD/MH)
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