The news that Ashya King and his parents are being allowed to fly to the very treatment in Prague they sought all along, is heart warming news. The Southampton General not only dismissed this suggestion when it was advanced to them, but then, having threatened the parents whose only fault was their desire to do the best for their child, triggered an international manhunt to try to prevent it, resulting in the child being taken from his parents, who in turn were thrown into gaol. It is one of the most outrageous individual episodes in the whole history of the NHS.
It is the view of this blog that this hospital should be in Special Measures for three good reasons. It has revealed a shocking inadequacy in its ability to maintain a constructive dialogue with parents of a desperately ill child, which it had a clear duty of care to the child so to do. It has shown a failure of clinical judgement in its dogmatic opposition to proton beam therapy, finally overruled by the Court. It has demonstrated a lack of integrity and sense of proportion in its hysterical response to the King’s flight from its clutches.
Various enquires are now being set up and rightly so; the revelations of what happened behind the scenes are only just beginning and the conduct of the authorities and the the alleged facts they were given to trigger their responses are now being scrutinized as they should be. This story is far from over but the harassment of the family is.
The whole country is behind them and wishing them well.