HSE will not fund boy’s foreign treatment

THE HSE has refused to fund specialised overseas treatment for a Down syndrome child despite a recommendation from his doctor that he be treated in London.

JJ Kane, 9, who has sleep apnoea, joint hypermobility and juvenile arthritis, applied for HSE funding under the treatment abroad scheme after his consultant paediatric rheumatologist, Dr Orla Killeen, recommended that he travel to Great Ormond St for a treatment programme she said was not available in Ireland.

Dr Killeen, who works at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, said her hospital did not have the required expertise. JJ’s parents Fran and Fergal applied for funding for overseas treatment, but were turned down. A HSE spokesperson said the service was available “in other paediatric hospitals”, despite Dr Killeen’s advice to the contrary.