Victory for family over ME therapy

THE FAMILY of a 13-year-old boy suffering from the debilitating disease ME has won a victory at the High Court after claiming that child protection laws were wrongly used in an attempt to force the boy to receive treatment at a children's psychiatric unit.

The parents spoke of the "abuse of power" that had caused distress to them and their son after he was placed on the "at risk" register when they refused to allow the treatment.

Children are put on the register if it is thought they are "suffering or likely to suffer significant harm" within the meaning of the 1989 Children Act. The parents of "B", who cannot be named for legal reasons, launched a legal challenge against a decision last April by Solihull Healthcare NHS Trust and a consultant paediatrician to refer the boy's case to social services staff in Solihull on the basis that he was "at risk".

Yesterday's hearing ended swiftly when the trust and Solihull council agreed that the family was entitled to judicial review and agreed to recommend that B's name be removed from the register.