Freya's fight to survive hit by red tape

Sickly teen can't get help she badly needs

- VIVIENNE AITKEN

A DESPERATELY ill child is unable to have life-saving treatment because of NHS red tape.

Freya Hunter, 14, needs to go into the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, (RHCG) for a trial of a machine to help her breathing and keep her alive over winter.

But NHS Forth Valley is refusing to allow her team of nurses to travel with her to provide the complex nursing she needs.

Freya has severe cerebral palsy and has issues with respiration, but mum Carolynne fears that without the Bipap venti lation system her daughter may not survive.

The charity worker said: “Freya has a really compromised airway, she is completely immobile and has to have everything done for her.

“ She has two-to-one nursing care at home 24/7. She is non-verbal and she’s fed through her tummy and is on oxygen all the time.