Disabled Boy’s Parents Historic Bid To Halt Casualty Closure

The parents of a severely disabled boy have launched a court battle against the closure of their local casualty unit saying the move could lead to his death.

Jordan-Lee Fitton, seven, has been taken to accident and emergency dozens of times with life-threatening fits.

The unit, which is only five minutes by car from Jordan-Lee’s home, is scheduled to be axed in favour of an A&E department half an hour away.

Mr and Mrs Fitton say the proposed change will mean an extra 25-minute drive to the nearest A&E at Oldham. His parents, David and Lisa-Louise, fear the extra journey time could be fatal.

Jordan-Lee’s younger brother Dion had the same condition – global development delay – and died last year at the age of five.

The Fittons pleaded with Mr Justice Bennett in the High Court in London to allow a judicial review.

They claimed their local primary care trusts failed to consult properly about the proposal. If they win their case, many more law suits could follow.

Dozens of health trusts face protests over the closure of A&E departments. Opponents say the lives of the elderly as well as those with life-threatening conditions would be put at risk.

Mr Fitton, 42, from Rochdale, said: “They want to shut our hospital and they can’t do that.

“We want to do everything in our power to keep it open.

“It is Jordan-Lee’s lifeline. They are simply playing with our son’s life.

“Our younger son died at home of the condition before he could even get to hospital and we don’t want to lose another child.”

Plans to shut the casualty unit at Rochdale Infirmary were announced last year.

The decision followed a four-month consultation exercise in which nearly 38,000 locals signed a petition against the move.

Health bosses said the A&E department would be replaced with an urgent care centre.

They claimed that around 85 per cent of patients would still be treated there, with only the most serious cases having to go further afield.

His condition has confined Jordan-Lee to a wheelchair, unable to move voluntarily, speak or eat. He suffers frequent fits – similar to severe epileptic seizures – which can cause brain damage and leave him struggling for breath.

Dion died last October when his brain shut down, apparently because of his illness. Doctors do not know what triggered global development delay in either child.

Mr Fitton, who gave up his plumbing job to help his 24-year-old wife care for their son, said: “When Jordan-Lee has a fit, we have to give him medication at home but if that doesn’t work within five minutes we need to get him to hospital as soon as possible.

“He needs to be put on a drip and given intravenous medication and then he has to go straight up to the children’s ward.

“The longer the fits go on for, the more damage they could do to his brain and the more strain they put on his heart.

“They know us at Rochdale and they know what to do for Jordan-Lee.”

Jenni Richards, of the Healthy Futures Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts, defended the committee’s closure plans.

She admitted there would no longer be a traditional A&E department at Rochdale but insisted Jordan-Lee would be “stabilised” at the new urgent care centre before being transferred to Oldham hospital.

She also claimed the consultation exercise was adequate and had given the public a voice.

“The public were given the opportunity to set out their concerns, questions and priorities,” she added.

“The fact that they did not like what was decided was neither here nor there”.

Paul Rowen, Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale, said: “No one opposes the development of specialised services but not at the expense of the life-saving services provided by district general hospitals like Rochdale.

“Make no mistake, lives will be lost.”

Mr Justice Bennett is set to rule whether the Fittons have grounds for a judicial review.