1:23pm Thursday 7th August 2008
BABBLING away to her big sister, there is nothing to suggest that EllieWheatley is different to any other 11-month-old.
But while everyone else can hear her endless baby chatter Ellie herself cannot, because she is one of the most profoundly deaf children in the country.
A life-changing operation to be fitted with two cochlear implants is her best hope of being able to hear and with it to learn how to speak.
But this week her local health trust ruled that she could only have one, a decision that her family says would be pointless given the severity of her condition.
Mum Christine Wheatley says her daughter, among the five most profoundly deaf children born last year, is the victim of a "postcode lottery" healthcare system.
"Of course I'm bitter and angry," said the 35-year-old, of Pitter Close, Winchester, who herself works in the NHS.
"Ellie will be more likely to get run over by a bus, fail at school or get depressed - and all because of where we live.
"Experts say she needs two implants but the people at Hampshire Primary Care Trust are essentially accountants."
The cost of one implant is £33,000 with a second one costing an additional £18,000.
Ellie's case has now been taken up by Winchester MP Mark Oaten. He said: "I am determined to help Ellie get her cochlear implant. At such a young age this couldmake a real difference."
Hampshire PCT says the decision was made in accordance with guidelines laid down by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the body that provides national guidance.
A spokesman for the trust, said: "We are also guided by the consultation documents concerning these implants which have been issued by NICE ahead of its new guidance due to be released in September. The current NICE recommendations support unilateral implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness. However, under these guidelines, bilateral cochlear implantation is restricted to certain conditions, including children and adults who are also blind.
"We will study the updated guidance next month, and review our current position based on the new evidence."
Surgeon Chris Raines, based in Bradford, West Yorkire, has never had an application for bilateral implants turned down by his local PCT. He said: "Some health authorities are absolutely fabulous and some don't even fund adults so there's an element of postcode lottery. What we're hoping is that after the NICE adjudication there will be more winners than losers."
Mrs Wheatley, who contracted cytomegalovirus while she was pregnant with Ellie, which led to the baby's deafness, said she and solicitor husband Ed, 35, would remortgage her house if her appeal against the PCT's decision was unsuccessful.
A NICE spokeswoman said: "Until NICE issues final guidance, individual cases should be assessed at a local level within the NHS. Once NICE issues its guidance on a technology it replaces local recommendations."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk