Mother's fears for epileptic son without medicinal cannabis access

A mother from Cardiff fears her son could die before Christmas if he is not able to access cannabis oil to help protect him from life-threatening seizures.

Rachel Rankmore's son Bailey suffers from an extreme form of epilepsy.

She says the cannabis oil can help turn Bailey's life around. However, the oil is expensive and the family are currently unable to access an NHS prescription for it.

Rachel said: "The powers that be need to understand this is not some neurotic mother and father who are just fighting for a drug; this is life-changing for him and for us.

"We've suffered so much and we just can't continue suffering any longer. It's really, really difficult the position we are being put in now, to think that we can't save our child any longer.

"We went out and found a prescription for him, a drug that actually works for him without limiting his quality of life and they just don't see that."

The Welsh government said it is possible for children with severe epilepsy to get a prescription but that it is for doctors to issue it.

Rachel and Bailey's father, Craig, have been campaigning for years to change the law around medicinal cannabis use and raise awareness of the issue.

Similarly to the Welsh government's position, the UK government said prescriptions can be used but that it is a matter for clinicians.