NHS agrees to fly baby abroad for life-saving surgery
THE NHS has agreed to pay for a gravely ill baby to fly to the US for heart surgery after conceding that British doctors lack the expertise to perform it at home.
The health service said it would fund seven-month-old Oliver Cameron’s treatment, which will cost more than £150,000, because there is no unit in England capable of treating the “exceptionally rare” heart tumour, cardiac fibroma. The decision comes in the wake of lengthy legal battle surrounding Charlie Gard, where the High Court refused permission for the child to leave Great Ormond Street Hospital for treatment in America.
But experts have stressed that Oliver’s case is different because his procedure has been shown to work on similarly ill patients.
Doctors in Boston have agreed to operate on the baby after his first birthday in January. The delay is intended to give Oliver the best chance of recovery after the treatment, although his medical team has said the trip could be brought forward if his condition wors- ened. Parents Lydia and Tim Cameron, of Wantage, Oxon, had been trying to raise money to pay for the trip and procedure, and had reached £130,000 before NHS England’s announcement.
A health service spokesman said: “The application identified there is not currently a surgical service in the UK with experience of treating this exceptionally rare condition and we have therefore agreed to fund Oliver’s treatment abroad. We have also determined that a clinical policy is required for service access and will explore whether a service in the UK is appropriate considering the small number of patients.”
The NHS is considering sending a British surgeon with the Cameron party to learn how the tumour can be removed from US counterparts. Cardiac fibroma is extremely rare, with an estimated single figure number of patients in England.
Oliver, who was taken straight to intensive care after his birth at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital in January, needs round-the-clock care to stabilise his heart rate, while an implant under his skin sends readings back to specialists at Southampton General Hospital, where he has been receiving treatment. Specialists said removing the tumour would be “extremely high risk” because there was limited experience in treating his condition in the UK so they had decided to support his parents’ bid to find treatment elsewhere.
Professor Dominic Wilkinson, from the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics, said: “The fundamental questions are, is this treatment suitable; is there evidence that it is benefiting other patients with the some condition? They will also have to consider the cost of the treatment relative to the benefit in the context of a public health system.”