Supporting You Through Life

The mother of a terminally-ill girl says she might be forced to put her into care because of funding delays.

Poppy Blewett-Silcock, eight, suffers from rare genetic disorder Warburg Micro Syndrome. It has left her blind, unable to speak or walk and in need of tube feeding. Both Caerphilly social services and Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board (LHB) acknowledge that Poppy, who is not expected to live beyond the age of 10, urgently requires various means of support.

Her mother, Dr Tymandra Blewett-Silcock, who lives in Caerphilly, says they have already been waiting six-months for either social care body to take responsibility for funding her support. Poppy's needs range from respite and nursing care, to equipment such as a specialist wheelchair, a hoist, and bath seat. Dr Blewett-Silcock insisted that this kind of specialist equipment and support would make her daughter's final years safer and much more enjoyable.

"I don't know who should be picking up the tab, and quite frankly I don't care," she said.

"I just need the support in order to make whatever time we have with Poppy as safe and hassle-free as possible."

"Don't get me wrong, we have a fantastic life. Even though Poppy is blind, tube-fed, and in a wheelchair, she is a mischievous bundle of fun.

"But as she's grown and her condition has progressed, the support she needs has increased dramatically."
She added: "We are patient, but time is unfortunately the one thing Poppy doesn't have on her side."

To make matters worse, even though funding for a bath hoist is still under dispute, Dr Blewett-Silcock has been warned against manually lifting Poppy out of her bath. She has recently been told no equipment orders will be placed until funding is agreed.

"It's an absolutely terrible thing for any parent to say,” she said, “but if we simply said we couldn't or wouldn't care for Poppy any longer, then they'd have to cater for her needs, and the argument would be resolved one way or the other."

Caerphilly council and the Aneurin Bevan LHB denied that they had reached deadlock. A LHB spokesman said: "Continuing health care cases do need to be thoroughly assessed and we apologise for any delay whilst this work has taken place.

"We are working with the local authority to ensure that the equipment required is sourced as quickly as possible to bring about a satisfactory conclusion for the family."