Poor little Ashyer

[jay-ell71]

My OH and I feel very strongly that the imprisonment of the Parents of Ashyer is a wicked an unnecessary interpretation of the the law. In fact, it is not illegal to take your child out of hospital, but someone in Southampton saw fit to make a police case out of the concern, love and desperation of parents of a very sick little boy. He has been all alone in hospital for three days, and only now can the older brother visit. I cannot imagine the fear and loneliness of my five year old grandson had he been in hospital, a foreign hospital, without his Mummy and Daddy in attendance.
What do others think about this?

[Sarah62+]

Total overkill by the authorities. They never seem to get it right. !!

[Andrea S]

Jay-ell71,

I am sure there are rights and wrongs in this case but I cannot see beyond a 5 year very poorly little boy taken from his Mummy and Daddy into a hospital that he is unfamiliar with. I presume that he would have seen his parents upset and I hate to think what damage this could do to him.

Any parent who has had a child in hospital will know how you have to turn it into a game, and they need to know when they open their eyes it is Mummy and Daddy they see.

Being tube fed is something his parents had taken very seriously as the had feed machines and a supply of feed, hardly neglectful parents.

Maybe they did things in the wrong way but desperate people do desperate things.

To be arrested and handcuffed in such a public way is terrible.

[Boris+]

I can't stand the fact that these parents are being kept apart from this little boy, at a time when he simply needs them.

Em

[JenniC]

Ludicrous situation, let's hope someone sees sense soon and this poorly little boy is re-united with his parents and his siblings who clearly afore him

[david63]

This is one of those cases where the authorities are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

I suspect that in this case once the wheels were set in motion it was not possible to stop them.

[jay-ell71]

Looks like we are all of a mind.

The police should never have been involved. J

[Silver_Shiney]

I think the main issue was that the machine used to keep this lad going was run on batteries and there was a fear that the batteries would expire before the day was out. That was why the police were involved to find them, not because the parents had removed him but because the hospital was worried that, without power, the machine would stop working and the boy would die.

All it would have taken was a word from the parents to say that they had replacement batteries and that they were taking their son elsewhere where they could get the necessary treatment. My understanding is that they just upped and left. That, if true, in itself, is irresponsible.

[Manoverboard]

.... but why on earth would a Spanish Judge cause the little boy to be kept from his family as such a time while he/she ' Thinks about it ' ?

Last night it seems that the police allowed the brother to visit him in Hospital ... plus a round of applause is deserved for the Czech involvement.

[Stephen]

I'm sure it will all come good in the end and the parents will soon be released.

[jay-ell71]

Oh Stephen, I hope you are right.

I wish you all the best when you are in the hospital, and sincerely hope for a satisfactory outcome and a speedy return to normal. J

[towny44]

There is quite a bit of comment in this mornings paper about the high handed police action in this case and whether in fact it was lawful. Suffice to say that the human rights legislation seems to offer support to terrorists, murderers and rapists when they try to avoid extradition, but is of little use in this case. However fast track extradition legislation aimed specifically at terrorist offences is able to be used to jail Ashya's parents.
Isn't it about time that the UK Govt. and judiciary started to listen to what the UK people want, rather than what they think we should have.

[Frank Manning]

I agree Towny. Their distress is unimaginable, and it requires more understanding by the authorities; to imprison them is evil, there are other solutions I am sure.

[david63]

Could this be another case of us not knowing all of the facts - let's be honest the media can be very selective as to what they want us to know.

For all I know there may be something from the past in this family that has rung the alarm bells.

[jay-ell71]

David, I do agree, we read what they want us to read and I do think the parents could have agreed to return to UK with their son, but they chose to stay in Spain.

As I write there is a report on the News suggesting that the CPS is reviewing the case and maybe someone will have some common sense. The parents may not have done it right, but prison is in no one's interest.

[Onelife]

Having just listened to the father's explanation as to why he removed his child from hospital l personally think the father has allowed this desperate situation to overide what is best for this terminaly ill child. Sorry but l think the father is in denial of what seems an inevitable outcome. Although l feel very sorry for the desperate situation the family find themselves in l think his actions were of a man who belives 'he' knows better than the professionals teating his child.

As for the police intevention they had no choice once the child was abducted from the hospital.

OL

[Manoverboard]

My interpretation is that the NHS would not provide the treatment the parents wished for even though it is readily available in other Countries ... and the parents removing their own child from a hospital cannot possibly be an abduction.

Version 3 to follow shortly

[Onelife]

Mob.....it matters not what your or my interpretation of abduction are, the fact remains that the child was taken whilst under the care of the hospital therefore unlawfully in my opinion.

As for the childs treatment l'm sure if the child would have benefited from the treatment the father was asking for then it would have been given, whether in this country or another, but as with all cases such as this the decision would have been based on the clinical bennifits taking into account the childs poor prognosis.

Regards

Keith

[jay-ell71]

Not abduction, but desperation. To separate the child from his parents, regardless of the right and wrongs of this case, is wicked and cruel. The judge should be ashamed. However, I still believe that the Southampton Hospital Doctors should not have involved the police. The outcome will be the same, whether Ashya stayed in the UK hospital or went away to another hospital. It is too sad.

[Frank Manning]

Onelife Keith, I'm sorry but I dont see them as wrong. It is desperate when your child is seriously ill, or in danger, and if nothing is happening you feel an overwhelming need to act. Your thought is often that to do nothing would haunt you for the rest of your life.

[jay-ell71]

Looks like common sense has prevailed. Lets hope the parents are reunited with Ashya and all the other children.

[Onelife]

Hello Frank,

We'll have to beg to differ on this one then Frank .......take a look at this link then let me know what you think.



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=14ETQn9ZPwk

Regards

keith

[jay-ell71]

What I think is that the father is unable to accept what the doctors are telling him. This does not make him a bad man, or a bad father, it just means that he needs to do more than just accept. This certainly has not changed my mind. I am still sure that the father did not abduct his little boy, he was clutching at straws. A Proton straw. If the treatment fails, the father will be sure, in his own mind, he has done everything possible; if the treatment succeeds........... well no more to be said.
In fact the best treatment of all for Ashya is to be with his Parents and his Siblings ,now.

[Delboy]

I wrote this elsewhere yesterday, that's the problem, those of us who are not in the know, can all speculate and provide scenarios, hopefully eventually the truth will out.

All that matters at the moment, is the child gets the best possible treatment available, wherever that may be, and is reunited with his parents as quickly as possible.

Yesterday on the news, The Proton Therapy Centre (PTC) in Prague, Czech Republic, said "they received a request from Brett King on 20 August, it said it can treat Ashya immediately if he is eligible.

She said the centre told the parents they need the necessary medical documentation before they could agree on the appropriateness of treatment, which usually costs £60,000 - £65,000 for children.

So far the family had not got back to them, they had heard nothing further from the family."

Also on the same thread I wrote the above, somebody else also wrote this:-

"I think the reason that the medical staff got the police involved is because they took the boy out of the hospital against/without medical advice, and also we have child protection laws in place. The child is the most important person not his parents. If they had gave a rational on what treatment they wanted and where their son would get it then it would have not been a problem.

BTW this is me giving a medical/legal opinion not mine."

Back to me, when this story first broke, I am sure most of our thoughts were, I hope that the parents and child are soon found, so the child could get back to receiving the medical care he needed, even when it was discovered the child had been taken abroad.

It was only when the PTC in Prague was mentioned did opinions begin to change, but even when the family were found there was still no indication they were taking the child to Prague or going to sell their property.

As for the Judge in Spain, he/she was not prepared to make a decision until he/she had all the facts of the case and in a language that he/she understood. As far he/she was concerned a warrant had been issued for this couple's arrest in the UK.

So the UK police have now withdrawn the warrant, the question has still got to be discussed with the UK medical team and the family re Proton Treatment, which they are now prepared to pay for, if the family agree and if it is suitable, which is still not certain.

Ps. I have not looked at any of the family videos, only news reports.

[Delboy]

Ashya King parents leave Spain jail
The parents of Ashya King have been freed from a Spanish prison after UK prosecutors withdrew a European arrest warrant, the BBC learns.