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My baby Ellie is a victim of the NHS postcode lottery
BABBLING away to her big sister, there is
nothing to suggest that EllieWheatley is different
to any other 11-month-old.
But while everyone else can hear her endless baby chatter
Ellie herself cannot, because she is one of the most profoundly
deaf children in the country.
A life-changing operation to be fitted with two cochlear implants is her best hope of
being able to hear and with it to
learn how to speak.
But this week her local health
trust ruled that she could only
have one, a decision that her
family says would be pointless
given the severity of her condition.
Mum Christine Wheatley says
her daughter, among the five
most profoundly deaf children
born last year, is the victim of a
"postcode lottery" healthcare
system.
"Of course I'm bitter and
angry," said the 35-year-old, of
Pitter Close, Winchester, who
herself works in the NHS.
"Ellie will be more likely to get
run over by a bus, fail at school
or get depressed - and all
because of where we live.
"Experts say she needs two
implants but the people at
Hampshire Primary Care Trust
are essentially accountants."
The cost of one implant is
£33,000 with a second one costing
an additional £18,000.
Ellie's case has now been
taken up by Winchester MP
Mark Oaten. He said: "I am
determined to help Ellie get her
cochlear implant. At such a
young age this couldmake a real
difference."
Hampshire PCT says the decision
was made in accordance
with guidelines laid down by the
National Institute for Clinical
Excellence (NICE), the body that
provides national guidance.
A spokesman for the trust,
said: "We are also guided by the
consultation documents concerning
these implants which
have been issued by NICE ahead
of its new guidance due to be
released in September. The current
NICE recommendations
support unilateral implants for
children and adults with severe
to profound deafness. However,
under these guidelines, bilateral
cochlear implantation is
restricted to certain conditions,
including children and adults
who are also blind.
"We will study the updated
guidance next month, and
review our current position
based on the new evidence."
Surgeon Chris Raines, based
in Bradford, West Yorkire, has
never had an application for
bilateral implants turned down
by his local PCT. He said: "Some
health authorities are absolutely
fabulous and some don't even
fund adults so there's an element
of postcode lottery. What
we're hoping is that after the
NICE adjudication there will be
more winners than losers."
Mrs Wheatley, who contracted
cytomegalovirus while she was
pregnant with Ellie, which led
to the baby's deafness, said she
and solicitor husband Ed, 35,
would remortgage her house if
her appeal against the PCT's
decision was unsuccessful.
A NICE spokeswoman said:
"Until NICE issues final guidance,
individual cases should be
assessed at a local level within
the NHS. Once NICE issues its
guidance on a technology it
replaces local recommendations."
1:23pm Thursday 7th August 2008
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CommentPosted by: caped crusader, nhs lottery nomad on 1:37pm Thu 7 Aug 08
I really hope this little angel gets the operation she should have (by right of being British).
I am sick to death of this country,we are forever looking out for others and foresaking our own.I'm sick of bloody europeans telling us what we can and can't do and even sicker of our weak kneed bloody government who tax us to the hilt and let us down in every way we should benifit.WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING IF THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS AN IMMIGRANT !!!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE !!!!!
I really hope this little angel gets the operation she should have (by right of being British).
I am sick to death of this country,we are forever looking out for others and foresaking our own.I'm sick of bloody europeans telling us what we can and can't do and even sicker of our weak kneed bloody government who tax us to the hilt and let us down in every way we should benifit.WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING IF THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS AN IMMIGRANT !!!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE !!!!!
Posted by: Ciaran on 1:55pm Thu 7 Aug 08
This nothing to do with immigration or the EU.
This is purely a British matter, and is the fault of no-one but bureaucrats in the UK.
This nothing to do with immigration or the EU.
This is purely a British matter, and is the fault of no-one but bureaucrats in the UK.
Posted by: Mike, Soton on 2:40pm Thu 7 Aug 08
It is all a matter of how much tax we are prepared to pay. We could have the best health care in the world with every new treatment freely available. However, we could not then complain about the 'high' level of tax.
I bet there will still be rationing by the NHS when Cameron is in power. In fact, judging by their previous record there will be more of it under the Tories and they will charge for things that are currently free. Those with long memories may remember free dental checks and eye tests, both of which were ended by the Tories. What price to see your GP in 2010?
It is all a matter of how much tax we are prepared to pay. We could have the best health care in the world with every new treatment freely available. However, we could not then complain about the 'high' level of tax.
I bet there will still be rationing by the NHS when Cameron is in power. In fact, judging by their previous record there will be more of it under the Tories and they will charge for things that are currently free. Those with long memories may remember free dental checks and eye tests, both of which were ended by the Tories. What price to see your GP in 2010?
Posted by: caped crusader, nhs lottery nomad on 3:32pm Thu 7 Aug 08
[quote][bold]Mike[/bold] wrote:
It is all a matter of how much tax we are prepared to pay. We could have the best health care in the world with every new treatment freely available. However, we could not then complain about the 'high' level of tax. I bet there will still be rationing by the NHS when Cameron is in power. In fact, judging by their previous record there will be more of it under the Tories and they will charge for things that are currently free. Those with long memories may remember free dental checks and eye tests, both of which were ended by the Tories. What price to see your GP in 2010?[/quote] if you work out what your giving in taxes i think you'll find the government get more of every pound you earn than you do already....think enoughs enough.you pay your tax/national insurance (still a tax of sorts)then you pay council tax,fuel tax,tax on food,tax on beer,tax on fags,road tax value added tax,tax on savings,tax when selling your house....anymore for anymore !!!!! oh and then to top it off immigrants come over and get better looked after than anyone of us BRITISH in our own damded country,makes me sick to the back teeth,and then the politically correct brigade jump all over people like me for standing up for my right to expect better from my own countrymen/governmen
t.
end of rant !!!
Mike wrote:
It is all a matter of how much tax we are prepared to pay. We could have the best health care in the world with every new treatment freely available. However, we could not then complain about the 'high' level of tax. I bet there will still be rationing by the NHS when Cameron is in power. In fact, judging by their previous record there will be more of it under the Tories and they will charge for things that are currently free. Those with long memories may remember free dental checks and eye tests, both of which were ended by the Tories. What price to see your GP in 2010?
if you work out what your giving in taxes i think you'll find the government get more of every pound you earn than you do already....think enoughs enough.you pay your tax/national insurance (still a tax of sorts)then you pay council tax,fuel tax,tax on food,tax on beer,tax on fags,road tax value added tax,tax on savings,tax when selling your house....anymore for anymore !!!!! oh and then to top it off immigrants come over and get better looked after than anyone of us BRITISH in our own damded country,makes me sick to the back teeth,and then the politically correct brigade jump all over people like me for standing up for my right to expect better from my own countrymen/governmen
t.
end of rant !!!
Posted by: Words Fail Me, Hants on 3:53pm Thu 7 Aug 08
[quote][bold]caped crusader[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]Mike[/bold] wrote: It is all a matter of how much tax we are prepared to pay. We could have the best health care in the world with every new treatment freely available. However, we could not then complain about the 'high' level of tax. I bet there will still be rationing by the NHS when Cameron is in power. In fact, judging by their previous record there will be more of it under the Tories and they will charge for things that are currently free. Those with long memories may remember free dental checks and eye tests, both of which were ended by the Tories. What price to see your GP in 2010?[/quote] if you work out what your giving in taxes i think you'll find the government get more of every pound you earn than you do already....think enoughs enough.you pay your tax/national insurance (still a tax of sorts)then you pay council tax,fuel tax,tax on food,tax on beer,tax on fags,road tax value added tax,tax on savings,tax when selling your house....anymore for anymore !!!!! oh and then to top it off immigrants come over and get better looked after than anyone of us BRITISH in our own damded country,makes me sick to the back teeth,and then the politically correct brigade jump all over people like me for standing up for my right to expect better from my own countrymen/governmen t. end of rant !!![/quote] Caped Cursade for Prime Minister!!! I second everything you say as I'm a smoker, drinker, car owner, home owner, and employed full time ......
caped crusader wrote:
Mike wrote: It is all a matter of how much tax we are prepared to pay. We could have the best health care in the world with every new treatment freely available. However, we could not then complain about the 'high' level of tax. I bet there will still be rationing by the NHS when Cameron is in power. In fact, judging by their previous record there will be more of it under the Tories and they will charge for things that are currently free. Those with long memories may remember free dental checks and eye tests, both of which were ended by the Tories. What price to see your GP in 2010?
if you work out what your giving in taxes i think you'll find the government get more of every pound you earn than you do already....think enoughs enough.you pay your tax/national insurance (still a tax of sorts)then you pay council tax,fuel tax,tax on food,tax on beer,tax on fags,road tax value added tax,tax on savings,tax when selling your house....anymore for anymore !!!!! oh and then to top it off immigrants come over and get better looked after than anyone of us BRITISH in our own damded country,makes me sick to the back teeth,and then the politically correct brigade jump all over people like me for standing up for my right to expect better from my own countrymen/governmen t. end of rant !!!
Caped Cursade for Prime Minister!!! I second everything you say as I'm a smoker, drinker, car owner, home owner, and employed full time ......
Posted by: nic, somewhere on 3:55pm Thu 7 Aug 08
why do i feel they are a little ungrateful and should take what they have been given and then continue to fight for the second? wouldnt this make more sense?
why do i feel they are a little ungrateful and should take what they have been given and then continue to fight for the second? wouldnt this make more sense?
Posted by: PAUL B on 8:36pm Thu 7 Aug 08
DAILY MAIL READERS
Posted by: caped crusader, nhs lottery nomad on 11:08pm Thu 7 Aug 08
[quote][bold]PAUL B[/bold] wrote:
DAILY MAIL READERS[/quote] and thats it is it... spineless.At least i've said what needs to be said,we let everyone dump on us in this country,if the boot was on the other foot do you think these countries would give us the same as they get from us...think not somehow.i'm not racist,but i do believe that we are second class citizens in our own back yard,the Aussies have got it right."live in our country,live by our rules and law's,don't expect religeous favours and pay your own way"
PAUL B wrote:
DAILY MAIL READERS
and thats it is it... spineless.At least i've said what needs to be said,we let everyone dump on us in this country,if the boot was on the other foot do you think these countries would give us the same as they get from us...think not somehow.i'm not racist,but i do believe that we are second class citizens in our own back yard,the Aussies have got it right."live in our country,live by our rules and law's,don't expect religeous favours and pay your own way"
Posted by: Quite frankly...., Orbiting Planet Idiot on 11:12pm Thu 7 Aug 08
[quote][bold]caped crusader[/bold] wrote:
I really hope this little angel gets the operation she should have (by right of being British). I am sick to death of this country,we are forever looking out for others and foresaking our own.I'm sick of bloody europeans telling us what we can and can't do and even sicker of our weak kneed bloody government who tax us to the hilt and let us down in every way we should benifit.WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING IF THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS AN IMMIGRANT !!!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE !!!!![/quote] Whilst nobody would want this little girl to suffer on the account of bean-counters, surely most would also want you to curtail your masturbatory Daily Mail-induced fantasies about Johnny Foreigner.
caped crusader wrote:
I really hope this little angel gets the operation she should have (by right of being British). I am sick to death of this country,we are forever looking out for others and foresaking our own.I'm sick of bloody europeans telling us what we can and can't do and even sicker of our weak kneed bloody government who tax us to the hilt and let us down in every way we should benifit.WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING IF THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS AN IMMIGRANT !!!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE !!!!!
Whilst nobody would want this little girl to suffer on the account of bean-counters, surely most would also want you to curtail your masturbatory Daily Mail-induced fantasies about Johnny Foreigner.
Posted by: English tax payer, Holbury on 11:26pm Thu 7 Aug 08
[quote][bold]Quite frankly....[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]caped crusader[/bold] wrote: I really hope this little angel gets the operation she should have (by right of being British). I am sick to death of this country,we are forever looking out for others and foresaking our own.I'm sick of bloody europeans telling us what we can and can't do and even sicker of our weak kneed bloody government who tax us to the hilt and let us down in every way we should benifit.WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING IF THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS AN IMMIGRANT !!!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE !!!!![/quote] Whilst nobody would want this little girl to suffer on the account of bean-counters, surely most would also want you to curtail your masturbatory Daily Mail-induced fantasies about Johnny Foreigner.[/quote] Two very different opinions, one can speak for me anyday, and the other quite frankly what planet are you from you idiot.
Quite frankly.... wrote:
caped crusader wrote: I really hope this little angel gets the operation she should have (by right of being British). I am sick to death of this country,we are forever looking out for others and foresaking our own.I'm sick of bloody europeans telling us what we can and can't do and even sicker of our weak kneed bloody government who tax us to the hilt and let us down in every way we should benifit.WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING IF THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS AN IMMIGRANT !!!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE !!!!!
Whilst nobody would want this little girl to suffer on the account of bean-counters, surely most would also want you to curtail your masturbatory Daily Mail-induced fantasies about Johnny Foreigner.
Two very different opinions, one can speak for me anyday, and the other quite frankly what planet are you from you idiot.
Posted by: Quite frankly...., Orbiting Planet Idiot on 11:32pm Thu 7 Aug 08
[quote][bold]English tax payer[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]Quite frankly....[/bold] wrote: [quote][bold]caped crusader[/bold] wrote: I really hope this little angel gets the operation she should have (by right of being British). I am sick to death of this country,we are forever looking out for others and foresaking our own.I'm sick of bloody europeans telling us what we can and can't do and even sicker of our weak kneed bloody government who tax us to the hilt and let us down in every way we should benifit.WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING IF THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS AN IMMIGRANT !!!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE !!!!![/quote] Whilst nobody would want this little girl to suffer on the account of bean-counters, surely most would also want you to curtail your masturbatory Daily Mail-induced fantasies about Johnny Foreigner.[/quote] Two very different opinions, one can speak for me anyday, and the other quite frankly what planet are you from you idiot.[/quote] Hmmm. Holbury. Breathing in all they fumes, you great big 'English tax-payer'. Must be hard typing one-handed.
English tax payer wrote:
Quite frankly.... wrote: caped crusader wrote: I really hope this little angel gets the operation she should have (by right of being British). I am sick to death of this country,we are forever looking out for others and foresaking our own.I'm sick of bloody europeans telling us what we can and can't do and even sicker of our weak kneed bloody government who tax us to the hilt and let us down in every way we should benifit.WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING IF THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS AN IMMIGRANT !!!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE !!!!!
Whilst nobody would want this little girl to suffer on the account of bean-counters, surely most would also want you to curtail your masturbatory Daily Mail-induced fantasies about Johnny Foreigner.
Two very different opinions, one can speak for me anyday, and the other quite frankly what planet are you from you idiot.
Hmmm. Holbury. Breathing in all they fumes, you great big 'English tax-payer'. Must be hard typing one-handed.
Posted by: now in the north, bolton, from southampton on 11:36pm Thu 7 Aug 08
Even the immigrants pay taxes!! They get done over as much as the rest of us. The fact of the matter is that we do have high taxes, but the pig-wigs at the top make sure they take their big fat chunky slice before they share it out to the various places its supposed to pay for! Just an MP's expenses alone would pay for that second implant! Perhaps, for the good of the people that vote them 'guardian and keeper', one of them might cut back on expensive lunches for a year and pay for this implant?..unlikely.
Even the immigrants pay taxes!! They get done over as much as the rest of us. The fact of the matter is that we do have high taxes, but the pig-wigs at the top make sure they take their big fat chunky slice before they share it out to the various places its supposed to pay for! Just an MP's expenses alone would pay for that second implant! Perhaps, for the good of the people that vote them 'guardian and keeper', one of them might cut back on expensive lunches for a year and pay for this implant?..unlikely.
Posted by: Re Member, Southampton on 5:43am Fri 8 Aug 08
"You have 24 hours to save the NHS - vote labour - Tony Blair !
"You have 24 hours to save the NHS - vote labour - Tony Blair !
Posted by: Amy, Georgia USA on 1:40pm Sat 9 Aug 08
We have a little boy named Elliot who has bilateral implants! We also had to fight for the 2nd... he had the first one at 9 months old, but two were not being done then in 2001, here in the states. At 5, he finally received his 2nd one after almost 2 years of fighting the insurance company. Now, their policy has changed.
I look forward to hearing that you succeed. Good luck to Ellie! Read my boys' website at cochlearimplant dot net
We have a little boy named Elliot who has bilateral implants! We also had to fight for the 2nd... he had the first one at 9 months old, but two were not being done then in 2001, here in the states. At 5, he finally received his 2nd one after almost 2 years of fighting the insurance company. Now, their policy has changed.
I look forward to hearing that you succeed. Good luck to Ellie! Read my boys' website at cochlearimplant dot net
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