The parents of a toddler with severe epilepsy are seeking a landmark judicial review of rigid guidelines that effectively prevent the NHS from prescribing medical cannabis oil, a substance that they say has allowed their son to live a much healthier life, to thousands of sick children. Charlie Hughes, 3, has a rare form of
The parents of a toddler with severe epilepsy are seeking a landmark judicial review of rigid guidelines that effectively prevent the NHS from prescribing medical cannabis oil, a substance that they say has allowed their son to live a much healthier life, to thousands of sick children.
Charlie Hughes, 3, has a rare form of epilepsy called West syndrome, which is resistant to most forms of treatment and can cause him to have up to 120 seizures a day, according to his parents, Alison and Matt Hughes. With regular full extract cannabis oil, however, he experiences a maximum of 20 less severe seizures a day.
The NHS has prescribed him seven different anti-epilepsy drugs, including benzodiazepines, which largely left him dazed, lethargic, and still having 100 seizures a day. He has almost been entirely weaned off those drugs.