Frome and East Somerset MP, Anna Sabine secures meeting from Prime Minister to consider proper NHS pathway for paediatric medical cannabis
Frome and East Somerset MP, Anna Sabine secures meeting from Prime Minister to consider proper NHS pathway for paediatric medical cannabis
Anna Sabine, MP for Frome and East Somerset today addressed Prime Minister Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Challenging the need for a rethink around the use of paediatric medical cannabis, Anna asked the Prime Minister for a meeting to discuss creating an NHS pathway for proper trials around the use of the drug in paediatric care.
Referencing her constituent Clover, a young Frome resident who suffers from life-threatening epilepsy if left untreated, and whose family has to bear the cost of her medication, Anna is seeking new approaches that take paediatric medical cannabis out of the control of the Home Office whose focus is on the drug in the capacity of illegal activity, and towards the NHS who can utilise it’s benefits for the 35 000 children across the UK, like Clover.
Despite its recognised benefits and legalised prescriptions in the UK, there is currently no clear pathway through the NHS and a lack of proper focused trials, restricting access to many whom paediatric medical cannabis could help. Anna asked the Prime Minister to meet with her to discuss the possibility of provision for these trials to allow for a clear pathway for all children to access the care, regardless of their family circumstances. At the moment, whilst available in the UK, paediatric medical cannabis can be costly, confusing and riddled with delay, despite the life changing benefits it could bring to tens of thousands of children suffering.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded to Anna during PMQs, committing to a meeting with the Minister for Anna, and also spoke of NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s recently agreed funding for two new clinical trials relating to the use of cannabis-based products which “could help see medicines more routinely available in the NHS”.
