Birth injury girl Milly Evans, 11, awarded £10.8m in compensation

A Lincolnshire girl who suffered serious injuries at birth and needs 24-hour care has been awarded compensation worth £10.8m.

A judge at London's High Court approved the award to Milly Evans, 11, the daughter of a former Red Arrows pilot.

Milly was born at Lincoln County Hospital on 1 March 2001, but later suffered a seizure.

United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust admitted liability, but had previously contested the amount of damages.

Her parents, Andy Evans, 45, and his wife Kate, 41, of Cranwell, claimed that if the baby's heart had been properly monitored, the midwife would have spotted her foetal distress sooner and would have been delivered earlier without suffering catastrophic injury.

Milly suffers from cerebral palsy and requires 24-hour care and help with all aspects of daily living.

She is confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, although her intellect has remained intact and she communicates through sophisticated eye-gaze equipment.

Susan Rodway, QC, representing the family, told the judge, Sir Robert Nelson: "It is yet another incident of an avoidable accident at birth which caused devastating injuries."

Changed practices

The judge approved a settlement involving a lump sum of £5.866m and lifelong periodic payments rising to £204,000 a year.

Sir Robert told Mr Evans, a former squadron leader in the RAF and member of the Red Arrows display team, who was unable to continue his career because of Milly's disabilities, that he and his wife, Kate, had both done a "fantastic" job.

Paul Rees QC, for the trust, offered them an unreserved apology for the events surrounding Milly's birth.

A statement from the United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust said that guidelines and practices had changed significantly in the 11 years since Milly's birth.

The family' said Milly would now be able to have a specially-adapted home, with hoists and a hydrotherapy pool, which would be big enough for her to access all rooms.

source: bbc.co.uk

Clarke to announce whiplash curbs

The government will this week set out tougher measures in a bid to cut the number of whiplash claims.

Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke and transport secretary Justine Greening will jointly outline plans to reform the diagnosis procedure. In a statement to be made on Wednesday, the government is expected to announce an accreditation system for doctors who assess whiplash claims. There are also likely to be tougher regulations on out-of-court settlements and insurers will be encouraged to challenge claims they believe to be fraudulent.

Reform of the whiplash claims system has been imminent since the start of this year, when prime minister David Cameron described Britain as the ‘whiplash capital of Europe’.

The Sunday Times quoted Clarke as saying it was ‘scandalous’ to have a system in place where it was cheaper for insurers to settle ‘spurious’ claims than defend them.

The government’s proposals are likely to find favour with the insurance industry, which called for objective evidence to be produced to prove a whiplash claim, in addition to the claimant’s GP’s diagnosis. A report by the Commons Transport Committee in January into the cost of motor insurance concluded that the rise in personal injury claims was the ‘main reason for the rise in premiums’.

The report said insurers should require fuller diagnosis of whiplash injuries to prove a claim is valid, and that legal expenses should be cut to encourage insurers to defend claims.

If there was not a significant fall in whiplash claims, the report said, primary legislation would be necessary to require objective evidence of an injury, or the injury having a significant effect on the claimant’s life, before compensation was paid.

source: lawgazette.co.uk

Driver cut from car after Newton Abbot crash

ONE person was cut from a car and taken to hospital after a crash near Newton abbot this morning.

The crash happened on the A383 at Bickington, close to the Dartmoor Halfway Inn at 6.45am.

Ambulance crews alerted the fire service, and fire crews from Ashburton and Newton Abbot attended.

One vehicle was involved in the accident, and one person was trapped inside.

Fire crews extricated the casualty using hydraulic cutting equipment and small tools to make the vehicle safe.

source: thisissouthdevon.co.uk

'Brake gene' turned off in pancreatic cancer

Aggressive pancreatic tumours may be treatable with a new class of drugs, according to Cancer Research UK

Less than one in five people with this form of cancer are still alive a year after being diagnosed.

A study, published in the journal Nature, showed that a gene was being switched off in the cancerous cells.

The reseachers said drugs were already being tested which had the potential to turn the gene back on, to stop the spread of the cancer.

Around 7,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year and it is the fifth most deadly cancer.

On/off

Studies in mice showed that a gene called USP9x, which normally stops a cell from dividing uncontrollably, is switched off in some pancreatic cancer cells.

The gene is not mutated, but other proteins and chemicals become stuck to it and turn the gene off.

Studies then showed that UPS9x was being turned off in human pancreatic cancer.

Prof David Tuveson, from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute, said: "We suspected that the fault wasn't in the genetic code at all, but in the chemical tags on the surface of the DNA that switch genes on and off, and by running more lab tests we were able to confirm this.

"Drugs which strip away these tags are already showing promise in lung cancer and this study suggests they could also be effective."

Dr David Adams, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "This study strengthens our emerging understanding that we must also look into the biology of cells to identify all the genes that play a role in cancer."

They argue that up to 15% of pancreatic cancers could be down the turning this one gene off.

Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK's senior science information manager, said: "These results raise the possibility that a class of promising new cancer drugs may be effective at treating some pancreatic cancers."

source: bbc.co.uk

Health chiefs probe claim dementia patients were left in care of a student while staff took a cigarette break

SEVEN nurses and their boss are being probed over claims they left a student to look after dementia patients while they went outside for fag breaks.

The student nurse reported their conduct to health chiefs after keeping a diary of their smoking habits.

He claimed almost the entire nursing team in the dementia ward at Glasgow’s Stobhill Hospital popped outside for half-hour cigarette breaks together three to four times a day, leaving him to care for the vulnerable, elderly patients on his own.

Last night NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirmed a probe had been launched.

A board spokeswoman said: “We received a complaint from a student nurse on levels of supervision and we have begun an investigation. We take the care of dementia patients very seriously. If any breach of policy is confirmed it will be dealt with appropriately.”

The student refused to speak for fear of repercussions but a friend told the Record that he reported the nurses because he was “horrified” by what he saw during his month-long stint at Stobhill.

She said: “He was shocked and horrified by what he saw and kept a diary of their cigarette breaks, how long they lasted, how many they took and also who was left in the ward to look after the patients.

“They would all go out together, including the nurse manager, for half-hour cigarette breaks three to four times a day, leaving him on his own.

“These are very vulnerable patients. There are some poor souls on that ward who need round-the-clock care.

“He felt he had no choice but to report them.

“He feared that if he spoke out in public about this, that would be the end to his nursing career but he felt he had to report it for the sake of the patients.

“In my opinion, they are not fit to be in the job because they care more about feeding their cigarette habit than looking after their patients.”

source: dailyrecord.co.uk

Smith Partnership joins gocompensate.com

Specialist personal injury and medical negligence firm, Smith Partnership has today joined the Derbyshire and Staffordshire regional panels of gocompensate.com


Smith Partnership is one of the largest firms of solicitors in the East Midlands and has a network of offices throughout the region , including Derby, Leicester, Burton, Stoke and Swadlincote.


As one of the firms of solicitors featured in The Lawyer's 'Chasing 50, the firm draws clients from people in the East Midlands and beyond.


Simon Oates from gocompensate.com said that he was "delighted to welcome Smith Partnership to the gocompensate.com panel enabling the specialist personal injury and medical negligence service to extend its provision in Derbyshire and Staffordshire"


"We remain committed to extending our panel throughout the UK connecting potential claimants with specialist solicitors without charging referral fees".


Derbyshire and Staffordshire personal injury and medical negligence claimants should click Smith Partnership's logo claim online or simply access details about the firm including links to their social media applications.

Workers Memorial Day - 28 April 2012

Every year on 28th April people throughout the world unite to remember family, friends and colleagues who died during the course (or as a result) of their employment.


The first Workers Memorial Day was held on 28th April 1984 and became recognised the following year as an annual event by the Canadian Labour Congress marking the anniversary of the Canadian Workers' Compensation Act.


Now with international recognistion, Workers Memorial Day presents an opportunity to remember those who have died in incidents at work or from industrial disease.


Events are being held throughout the UK with the laying of wreaths or empty pairs of shoes to symbolise those who have died at work.


The Workers Memorial Day ribbon is purple and is worn to symbolise respect and compassion to the 6,000 men and women who die every day from work related accidents and diseases.


Please take time to remember those who have died (and their family and friends) on 28th April this year. 

Girl hurt by 'out-of-control' mobility scooter

A Wiltshire man is calling for stricter controls on mobility scooters after his nine-year-old daughter suffered a broken ankle in an accident.

gocompensate.com advertisement featured in April 2012

Akeyla Pike, from Corsham, suffered the fracture when an elderly woman appeared to lose control of her scooter at Clarks Village in Street, Somerset.

Her father Graham said the mobility scooter "just took off" as the family queued at the checkout on Monday.

The driver of the scooter was treated for shock at the scene.

Mr Pike said: "My partner was shouting out: 'What are you doing - stop, stop' and as she's gone past she's like, 'I can't stop it'.

"First of all it went into my daughter, then it went into my partner and we all got pushed back - and my daughter was screaming because it was going over her leg.

"We were told that the lady was very sorry and she didn't mean to do it.

"But we're trying to push for a permit - like a cycling proficiency - so that you've got some general knowledge on how to operate these machines."

Effective training

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at RoSPA, said ideally people using mobility scooters would have had some training, been properly assessed and were confident using them.

"If people don't use the scooters then they can become housebound or end up in care homes.

"Compulsory training or compulsory insurance would all increase the users' costs and that might mean some people wouldn't be able to use them.

"There should be training, but we need to build up the number of providers and we need to know what sort of training would be effective.

"If you brought in a law now then a lot of users wouldn't be able to find the training in the first place so they'd lose access to their scooters," he added.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said the driver of the mobility scooter, a woman in her 70s, had been treated for shock at the scene by paramedics.

source: bbc.co.uk

Death crash drink-driver helps save lives of four people

A DRINK driver killed after his car ploughed into a lamppost has left a priceless legacy for four strangers.

Stephen Male, from Poole, drank 12 pints of lager in the hours before his 5am crash on the A3049 Dorset Way.

His head injuries were so severe that medics made the heart-wrenching decision to turn off his life support eight days later.

But the 39-year-old former credit control worker, who was unemployed at the time of the accident, was a staunch supporter of the donor card scheme.

Speaking at Tuesday’s inquest in Bournemouth, grieving mum Janet Male said: “I loved my son very much.

“He did have a donor card and we know four people benefited from his death.

“They got to spend some quality time with their families at Christmas.”

She praised the efforts of medical staff at Southampton General Hospital, where her son died on November 9 last year.

Toxicology tests, taken six hours after the accident, showed Mr Male was still significantly over the legal drink/drive limit.

In the hours leading up to the horror smash he had twice driven his Ford Puma car – once to get more beer from a Branksome supermarket and once to go for a drink in Bournemouth town centre with friend and landlord Gary Browne.

On both occasions he would have been over the legal limit, it is believed.

Then, around 3am on November 1, he drove to a friend’s house in Herbert Avenue, Poole.

This friend, Jacqueline Longman, was woken by his drunken shouts.

She recalled: “He was kicking the back door and I could hear him shouting ‘Jack, let me in.’”

Afterwards he remained outside with his car stereo playing loudly for 20 minutes.

Before he sped off alone, she heard him say, “I can see a brick wall coming,” but thought nothing of it as he often made similar comments while under the influence, she told the court.

Dorset Police crash investigator PC Clifton Beard described the accident scene as “inconsistent with someone trying to hurt themselves”.

However, he did stress that the “grossly excessive amount of alcohol” could have impaired his driving ability.

Mr Male’s car span off the road, hit a grass verge and smashed into a lamppost.

The inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.

source: bournemouthecho.co.uk

Paramedic accused of boasting on Facebook that he 'saved someone's life and managed to cop a feel of some cracking jubblies'

A paramedic who boasted online that he 'saved someone's life and managed to cop a feel of some cracking jubblies' has appeared before a conduct hearing.

Mark Small allegedly posted the comment on Facebook, rounding it off with: 'Excellent shift.'

Today he is appearing before a conduct hearing of the Health Professions Council (HPC), and could be struck off from the profession if found guilty of misconduct.

Mr Small worked for Great Western Ambulance service, which provides emergency care and patient transport across Gloucestershire.

The HPC claims he posted the comments on Facebook between 28 and 29 June last year after attending a patient with breathing difficulties.

Mark, from Bristol, had worked for the ambulance service since 2004 and qualified as a paramedic in September 2009.

Mark told the panel he admitted writing the comments and accepted that by writing it his standards fell short of what was expected by the HPC.

He refused to agree the 'jubblies' comment amounted to misconduct.

The gallery at the hearing watched in amusement as at one stage the HPC panel took time out to discuss how to pronounce 'jubblies' - deciding if it should actually be 'jubi-lees'.

Sarah Jenkins, acting locality operations manager for Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) said she investigated an anonymous tip-off about the raunchy Facebook posting.

Mrs Jenkins said Mark had told her there had been a 'flirtatious atmosphere' at the scene of the potentially life-and-death call out.

She said: 'Mr Small had attended a patient who was suffering chest pains and a shortness of breath, he had administered an ECG.

'Mark told me he had taken a liking to one of the other ladies at the scene and this status he had posted he had imagined in relation to this other lady and not the patient.

'He posted the status at the end of a night shift when he was tired and went straight to bed.

'The next morning his flatmate told him the status was inappropriate and he (Mark) deleted it immediately.'

Nick Cox, who was a serving paramedic with Mark on the night, said there was a good atmosphere in the house when they arrived.

He said: 'Everyone was very friendly and nice, I didn't get the impression that there was any inappropriate behaviour from anything I saw.'

Emergency care assistant Michael Smart, who was also at the scene, said the atmosphere in the house was very normal.

He claimed he too did not 'experience' any inappropriate behaviour.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Girl, 10, sues mother over drink-drive car crash

A 10-year-old schoolgirl is suing her mother for £100,000 over a drink-drive car crash which left her badly injured.

Cansu Ozkan is seeking damages from her mother Ceyda Ozkan, who crashed the family car into a tree following a drinking session at a party.

Cansu suffered serious face, back, leg and wrist injuries while her stepsister Filiz, 21, who was heavily pregnant at the time, was killed in the accident on Jan 1, 2009.

Ozkan was jailed for four years in February 2010 after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving but is expected to leave prison on licence next month.

Cansu, who now lives with her father Bahattin Ozkan in Forest Hill, south east London, is claiming compensation for negligence, papers submitted to the High Court say.

According to the claim, the accident left Cansu needing two operations on her face, two more on her right leg and surgery to her right wrist.

She then contracted MRSA in hospital, further hampering her recovery.

The injuries forced Cansu to take 12 months off school and her right leg is now nearly an inch shorter than her left.

She continues to suffer back pain and faces further surgery when she turns 18, legal documents claim.

At the time of Ozkan’s conviction, Woolwich Crown Court was told Cansu was in the back seat when her mother crashed her people carrier into a tree in Eltham, east London, after a family party.

Ozkan, who is disabled and used a wheelchair before the crash, had been drinking vodka and Bacardi and was twice the drink-driving limit when she got behind the wheel, the court heard.

Witnesses claimed they saw her driving the adapted black Chevrolet Captiva at between 60 and 70mph in a 30mph zone shortly before the crash.

The court heard that Filiz Ozkan, who was in the front passenger seat, tried to wrestle the steering wheel from her stepmother seconds before the crash because she feared for her life.

Two other adults and two other children were also seriously hurt in the crash. Nobody in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt, the court heard.

Jailing her, Judge Phillip Shorrock said: “In your bad driving whilst drunk, you were showing a flagrant disregard for the rules of the road and the danger of serious harm being caused to others.”

Filiz’s mother Sebahat Yilmaz said yesterday that the crash had torn the family apart.

“Ceyda killed my daughter and we’re not in touch at all, not after that. Four-and-a-half years in prison wasn’t much for taking away the lives of my daughter and her baby. I think they should have given her more.”

source: telegraph.co.uk

Accident causes delays on A303 near Yeovil

One person was treated at the scene following an accident on the A303 near Yeovil this morning.

Emergency services were called to the scene on the westbound carriageway between Cartgate Roundabout and South Petherton shortly before 10am.

One car involved in the accident had rolled onto its roof.

Initial reports indicated that one person was trapped in the vehicle, but Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service confirmed on arrival that there was nobody in the car.

Fire crews from Martock and Yeovil were joined by a specialist rescue team, as well as police and an ambulance.

The accident caused lengthy delays on the A303 for several hours, but traffic conditions had returned to normal by 1pm.

A severe weather warning has been issued for Somerset by the Met Office today and, with further heavy rain expected this afternoon, drivers are being warned to beware of surface water and localised flooding on the county's roads.

source: thisissomerset.co.uk

Man cut free from car after smash in Hampshire

SEVEN people, including four children, were taken to hospital after a road accident in Farnborough this week.

A car and a taxi crashed into each other at around 3.45pm on Tuesday, near the Clockhouse Roundabout, in Farnborough Road.

Police, fire and ambulance services had to be called to the scene.

A green Rover and a silver taxi collided, in the acccident, near the Ham & Blackbird pub.

A 35-year-old man had to be cut free from one of the vehicles by fire crews.

He was taken straight to hospital.

It is believed the four children and their carer, who were involved in the accident, managed to escape without injuries.

All five were taken to hospital as a precaution, along with one other person.

Martin Sawden, spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service, said: “The 35-year-old man had spinal injuries, he was collared for his neck and put on a long board [a stretcher.]

“He was taken to Frimley Park Hospital. Four children and their carer were also taken to hospital, so their parents could pick them up. There is no information on them being injured.”

Three ambulances attended the crash, as well as two fire engines from Rushmoor Fire Station, and two Hampshire police units.

Officers were required to redirect motorists following the incident.

Police were required in order to prevent traffic conges-tion as the time approached rush hour at the scene.

Drivers being ushered past saw the aftermath of the scene, and witnessed some of the damage to the vehicles.

Vanessa Baldwin, who was driving by at the time, said: “I saw the crashed car, the Rover.

“From what I could see it looked quite badly damaged, it looked quite bad. I think the recovery truck came by and picked up the vehicle. All the emergency services were there, fire, police and ambulances.”

Ms Baldwin said she did not see the injured man being taken to hospital.

It is believed spectators were present who witnessed him in the vehicle.

Two lanes of the road had to be closed, but Ms Baldwin added that police were doing a good job at keeping the traffic moving. “The accident was blocking two lanes going towards the Ham & Blackbird,” she said. “But the police handled it very well – they organised it very well.

“There was no extra traffic, and it was around 5pm in Farnborough.

“But all the emergency services handled it well.

“I expected the road to be blocked, but it was fine.”

source: gethampshire.co.uk

Asbestos plans for Stowey Quarry opposed by Bristol MPs

Two Bristol MPs and the leader of the city council have urged Bath planners to listen to objections to the proposed disposal of asbestos at a quarry.

An application to dispose of hazardous waste at Stowey Quarry was initially approved by Bath and North East Somerset Council last July.

The decision was later quashed but an application has since been resubmitted by Oaktree Environmental.

Opponents fear asbestos may get into Chew Valley reservoir.

'Represents a risk'

Bristol City Council leader Barbara Janke said some residents were concerned at the possibility of toxic asbestos disposed of at the Stowey Quarry site posing a "potentially devastating risk to public health in Bristol".

Bristol Water, which owns Chew Valley Lake, said it "considers that the use of Stowey Quarry as a waste disposal site is inappropriate and represents a risk to the long term quality of the water resource at Chew Valley Lake".

Labour MPs Kerry McCarthy and Dawn Primarolo have also written to Bath council planners after being contacted by concerned residents.

The Environment Agency said it would be objecting to the plans.

A spokesperson for Bath and North East Somerset Council said no decision would be made on the application before 6 June.

source: bbc.co.uk

Young mum died after worrying about PIP implants

Tragic Paige Goldup, 24, was fitted with faulty silicone PIP implants which were due to be removed and replaced by surgeons.

She admitted on Twitter that she was stressed by her fear that they were leaking - and said: "It's killing me, I'm so worried."

Pretty Paige, the mother of a nine-month-old baby girl, was found unconscious by relatives at her home.

She never came around and died in hospital of a suspected drug overdose.

Police were investigating yesterday but said there are no suspicious circumstances.

Civil servant Paige had used social networking sites to talk about her worries over her breast implants which she'd had for more than two years.

She told how she was fitted implants from the controversial French company Poly Implant Prothèse - and told of her fears of them rupturing and her concerns at having an operation to get them replaced.

Paige said: "I am one of the ones who are stressing. I've had to fill in a medical form and wait for the clinic to get back to me.

"I hope they do soon I'm very worried. I hope they say they'll pay for them. It's killing me, I'm so worried.

"I'm going to ring my GP because they will pay to remove and replace any PIP implants that have ruptured.

"I want them out now, they haven't ruptured yet, not that I know of, I'm going to ask for an MRI scan at the doctors."

Paige, of Swansea, South Wales, was due to have replacement implants free on the NHS which is available to women in Wales.

Her family say they are baffled by Paige's death because she had "so much to live for" - with a good job, a loving family and she doted on her little girl Poppie Grace.

Her heartbroken sister Penny said: "She was concerned about the implants but we didn't think it was such a major issue. We believed she must have post natal depression.

"She was fun loving happy-go-lucky, colourful character. We never had any idea she had so many problems.

"We don't understand why she did it. She loved her daughter Poppie so much, it's terrible she's been left without a mum.

"We will do the best to raise her, we are a really close family and we are going to have to pull together now."

Paige was found at her home in the quiet village of Godre'rgraig, near Swansea, and died later at the nearby Morriston Hospital.

Her partner Matthew Jones and parents Reg and Kathy were too upset to talk about the tragedy yesterday.

A spokesman for the Swansea coroner said an inquest had been opened and adjourned while toxicology and other tests are carried out to confirm her cause of death.

Paige's funeral is due to be held tomorrow and her friends have been told they can wear bright colours as a tribute to the fun-loving young mum.

Instead of flowers mourners are being asked to contribute to a fund towards Poppie's upbringing and education.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Comment from gocompensate.com

We are deeply saddened by this and our thoughts and best wishes are with Paige's family and friends.

We remain committed to helping those, who like Paige are worried about PIP breast implants by connecting them with specialist solicitors throughout the UK. 

Surgeons give hope to cerebral palsy sufferer, 7, whose dream is to dance

A SEVEN-year-old schoolgirl, who can only walk on her tiptoes, is set to become the first child in Scotland to undergo a life-changing operation, funded by the NHS, to reverse the debilitating effects of cerebral palsy.

Brooke Ramsay, from Carnoustie in Angus, developed the condition after she and her twin sister Amy were born prematurely in June, 2004, each weighing little more than a bag of sugar.

The little girl, who has to wear splints to aid her walking, had originally been told that the NHS would not pay for the £24,000 operation, known as selective dorsal rhizotomy, which will allow her to walk on the soles of her feet.

But yesterday her parents Laura and Stewart were celebrating after being told that NHS Tayside is now prepared to fund the transformational operation.

Mr Ramsay, a police officer, and his wife, a social care officer, had launched a campaign “Brooke’s Dream” last year to raise the funds needed to send their daughter to Bristol’s Frenchay Hospital where surgical specialist Dr Kristian Aquilina has already carried out the procedure.

Mrs Ramsay, 31, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic news. We’re still on cloud nine. It’s going to totally change Brooke’s life. At the moment she walks on her tiptoes and she falls all the time.

“Our consultant has already told us that Brooke is an ideal candidate for the operation. At the moment she can’t go dancing or ride a bike like her twin and she is desperate to do that. Brooke will always have cerebral palsy but she will be able to do the things that she wants to do.

“She thinks she is going to be running about like Amy within a month or so after the operation. But we see the bigger picture and the light at the end of the tunnel for her and it’s just unbelievable.”

Brooke and her twin sister were born three months’ premature and, after surviving early birth complications, Brooke was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was two years old. She suffers from spastic diplegia which means the muscles in both legs are extremely tight, causing her to walk on tiptoes. Her balance is poor and she is prone to falling.

The couple also have a two-year-old son, Ben, who is profoundly deaf. Mrs Ramsay said Brooke was scheduled to travel to Bristol on 11 May for assessment and that it was hoped that she could have the operation as early as July.

Graeme Dey, the local MSP who campaigned for the family, said: “I am delighted for Brooke and her family. I know how difficult the time spent waiting on this decision has been for them. It is also good news that the referral criteria is now in place for cases of this nature.”

Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a procedure which eliminates high muscle tone by cutting damaged nerves in the spine leaving the healthy ones to carry the correct signals from the brain to the muscles.

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside confirmed: “A referral for selective dorsal rhizotomy has now been agreed.”

source: scotsman.com