BY MARK McKELVEY
Omagh mother Charlotte Caldwell's says she is "disgusted" and "appalled" at the revelation that her son Billy's consultant at the Royal Victoria Hospital repeatedly gave false assurances that amounted to a "death sentence" for her child.
While Billy spent four months in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children between December 2005 and March 2006, his paediatric neurologist Dr Donncha Hanrahan claimed he was in regular contact with Britain's epilepsy expert Dr Helen Cross at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
Charlotte says, "He looked me in the eye and said nothing else could be done for Billy and he sent him home to die."
She added that Dr Hanrahan told her that, after assessing Billy's case, Dr Cross was of the same opinion.
However, Dr Cross has now said that the first time she had even heard of Billy Caldwell was at the beginning of September this year – 18 months after Dr Hanrahan said emphatically that she was being consulted about Billy's treatment.
Analysis of Billy's extensive medical records support this; there is no mention of Dr Hanrahan ever contacting Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Reacting to this, Charlotte said, "I have discovered in the past couple of weeks that what I was told by Dr Hanrahan was a blatant lie and that Dr Cross had never heard about Billy's case until September this year when we were putting pressure on the Health Minister's office to help us. It was only then they contacted Dr Cross, which is shocking.
"That was 18 months of believing lies, 18 months making me believe Dr Helen Cross, the leading epilepsy expert in the UK, also believed there was no hope for Billy.
"Dr Hanrahan looked me in the eye when I cried and begged him to help my son and he told me that everything that could be done for Billy had been done. I now find out he gave Billy a death sentence without talking to the experts.
"I can't describe my anger that he issued Billy with a death sentence without doing the proper diagnostic tests or proper referral. Dr Hanrahan is a father himself and as a father how can he make this decision about Billy's life and look another parent in the eye and say that he was exploring all avenues when it is now clear he turned his back on Billy and gave up.
"Eighteen months of Billy's life and treatment were wasted because of lies."
In a statement this week, Dr Cross also said that although Great Ormond Street does not have a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, it is not needed to assess a case such as Billy's.
Responding to this Charlotte said, "Of course she is sticking up for her own hospital, but the 3T scanner (in Chicago) pinpointed the exact spot in Billy's brain where his epilepsy was sparking off from, something the conventional scanner used at home couldn't do."
The UH's attempts this week to talk to Dr Hanrahan failed. A response from the Belfast Trust also failed to address any of the questions put by Billy's mother through the UH.
A trust spokesperson said, "We would be happy to meet Mrs Caldwell to discuss any aspects of her son's treatment on her return (from Chicago). Any parent who wishes to discuss their child's care can do so by contacting the relevant medical or nursing staff at the hospital. Staff at the hospital work closely with families when caring for their child and would encourage anyone to raise any concerns they may have."
