Expert Reacts To Reports

A lawyer has revealed his concerns over reports that medical authorities in Stoke are denying a young man a £10,000 operation on his skull.

Yogi Amin, who specialises in cases related to health and social care for Irwin Mitchell, has called for the local NHS trust to act to help 18-year-old Shaun Kilgariff.

Surgeons were forced to remove part of the teenager’s skull after he was involved in a motorcycle crash and specialists are now keen to perform a £10,000 operation in order to ensure his full recovery.

However, it has been revealed NHS Stoke-on-Trent only want to release funding for a £2,500 procedure which specialists claim would eventually need replacing and leave his head misshapen.

Discussing the case, Yogi Amin has urged the primary care trust involved to do all it can to ensure the 18-year-old gets the care he needs.

He said: “The healthcare and treatment required for a young and vulnerable patient must be fit for its purpose. A temporary fix may not in fact be what is considered to be a reasonable service on the NHS and the PCT may well be failing in their legal duties.

“Any unreasonable or irrational decision by the NHS Trust can be challenged through internal appeal procedure and then if no success – an application for judicial review can be made in the High Court. Legal Aid can be available to help fund legal assistance in this process.”