THIS ‘COMPUTER SAYS NO’ CULTURE DEHUMANISES EVERY ONE OF US

AGAINST seemingly insurmountable odds, Jaxon Jones lives some semblance of a normal life. And in the most part, it’s thanks to his mother Kaytee, writes Health Editor Barney Calman.

She has made sure his exhaustive care plan – which means he is watched over and tended to 24 hours a day – is followed to the letter. But make no mistake, this little boy’s health balances on a knife edge.

His conditions put him at risk of a fatal heart event, which could come on rapidly.

God knows how Kaytee will cope if the care workers who allow her just a few hours’ sleep on occasion stop coming.

The ‘computer says no’ assessment that deemed Jaxon’s needs ‘not severe enough’ is clearly not fit for purpose. And shame on all the so-called professionals who have blandly told Kaytee they had ‘considered’ her son’s case, and decided he was ‘ineligible’ for their help.

Simply on a human level, it’s a disgusting way to treat them.

But this kind of buck-passing between service providers is also just stupid: the only possible outcome is that this little boy becomes so ill that he ends up back in hospital long term.

And that, aside from the trauma and the fact his life will be in danger, will cost thousands.

In August, The Mail on Sunday launched a campaign to demand Dignity For The Disabled. We told the story of Nina Thair, a 48-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis who had been left to rot in an old people’s home.

And we revealed the anguish of Tricia Risbridger, who was denied home care for her severely disabled granddaughter Esmai, two, because the little girl was deemed ‘too heavy’.

The office of the Government’s Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Justin Tomlinson, got in touch. They were sympathetic. But – surprise surprise – these things were not their remit, I was told.

The Department for Health and Social Care offered us a similar stock response.

But someone needs to start taking responsibility – and end the whittling away of care for the most vulnerable in our society.