UK Denies Nigerian 9-year old NHS Treatment!

DENIED HELP: A sick nine-year-old boy has been prevented from receiving life-saving NHS treatment

A DESPERATE mother is pleading for help after her nine-year-old son was refused a life-saving operation by the NHS because of his immigration status. 

Samad Mustapha and his mother, Aderonke, 35, came to Britain from Nigeria in 2011 after it was discovered that he was a haemophiliac. The condition affects the body’s ability to form blood clots.

It means that a person who suffers from the condition risks bleeding far longer than normal if they suffer an injury. Without adequate treatment, the disease greatly reduces the chances of a child reaching adulthood, according to the World Federation of Haemophila.

The worried mother is desperate to get medical help for her son that is essentially unavailable in their home country. The family, who live in Belvedere, Kent, claims St Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, has refused to perform the surgery that Samad desperately needs because of his illegal immigrant status.

Mustapha told The Voice: “My son’s condition is getting worse. His legs are so swollen and he is in so much pain. He can’t walk properly or go to school. He was in the hospital for 24 days and now I have to take him back.

“The consultant says he needs the operation urgently to save his life. We need someone to talk to the consultant so he can get help,” she added.

In 2012, the family made an application to the Home Office for leave to remain in the UK on compassionate grounds, but the request was denied. Aderonke, who plans to appeal the decision, added: “They see [Samad] when I take him to the emergency room and he has actually been hospitalised. The consultants say he urgently needs an operation and he can’t get it on the NHS because of his status.”

Currently, some groups of migrants and those who are deemed to be in the country illegally do not have access to free healthcare on the NHS. Last October, Theresa May declared her intention to create a “hostile environment for illegal migrants” by introducing the controversial Immigration Bill to the House of Commons.

The Bill, now awaiting royal assent, will impose a new ‘health charge’ for temporary non-European Economic Area migrants living legitimately in the UK and implement a raft of measures to make it more difficult for those will irregular immigration status to access healthcare.

Labour MP for Erith & Thamesmead Teresa Pearce said: “There has been much written in the media about people from overseas accessing healthcare. However Samad's case shows that things are not as simplistic as some people would have you believe. We need to ask ourselves as a society, are we willing to let innocent children like this suffer? Or do we need to allow doctors to treat children on the basis of need rather than the parents’ immigration status."

Don Flynn, director of Migrants Rights UK, said they were “concerned” about the impact of the new policies. He said: “The government has signalled its intention to make things tougher for migrants who find they need to use the NHS.  There is great concern that more people will find themselves being challenged on their right to use services and we can expect that some will be refused treatment that is urgently needed.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Whilst the NHS is only free of charge for lawful, settled residents of the UK, and some groups exempted under Regulations, urgent care should always be provided, even when patients are chargeable and have not paid in advance.” The charity, Africans Unite against Child Abuse (AFRUCA), which is supporting the family, says it was unable to comment on the case at the moment.

St Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital declined to comment when contacted byThe Voice.