Billy Caldwell to return home amid uncertainty over cannabis licence
A 12-year-old boy from Northern Ireland who has been granted a licence for the use of medicinal cannabis will fly home amid uncertainty over access to his medication.
Billy Caldwell and his mother Charlotte are expected to fly into Belfast City Airport on Thursday evening.
A family spokesman said they remain uncertain over when Billy will be able to get his next dose. They have been in London where Billy has been receiving treatment.
The Home Office gave Billy, who has a rare form of epilepsy, a short-term licence to allow him access to cannabis oil, which Charlotte says helps to control his seizures.
" In the finalHours of Billys stay here in London , cruelly his homecoming has being Blocked"........... ??"The Home...
Posted by Keep Billy Alive on Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Uncertainty over the medication in Northern Ireland had placed a question mark over his return.
On Wednesday, the family claimed the Home Office decision needed to be ratified by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland before they could book flights home to Co Tyrone.
On Thursday morning, the family said they have booked flights but remain concerned over when Billy's next dose will be released.
The Department of Health said on Wednesday that it was "actively working for a timely resolution to this matter".
A family spokesman said they are still awaiting confirmation from the department that Billy's medication will be available when they land in Northern Ireland.
"While the Home Office in London and Charlotte's MP Orfhlaith Begley have done an amazing job in getting us this far, the Department of Health in Northern Ireland have not confirmed that Billy's medication will be available, whether for administration at a Belfast hospital, or to be taken home and administered in precisely the way he had previously been given his meds for 19 months before the prescription ban," he said.
Billy Caldwell has been through a long ordeal and whilst the transition from London to Castlederg should be a smooth one unfortunately it appears not to be!
I am continuing to press the health authorities in the North to get the licence transferred without further delay! pic.twitter.com/cr3x5C2ulX
-- Órfhlaith Begley (@OrfhlaithBegley) July 4, 2018
"While we have been advised that the captain of our flight will be given secure custody of the original larger quantity of Bill's medicinal cannabis confiscated at Heathrow on June 11, we are also advised that the meds will be handed directly to the Department of Health in Belfast.
"We have also been told that the final four days' supply of Billy's meds, released under special licence by the Home Office on June 16, will not be released from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
"This is a cause of concern, because after the administration of his Thursday morning dose of medicinal cannabis we do not know when the next dose will be released."
The department has been asked for a response.
