Dick Lives Up To His Name

Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick is in the cross-hairs of Senator Pauline Hanson after denying Sunshine Coast mother Katrina Spraggon oxygen for her 9 year old daughter.

Katrina’s daughter Kaitlyn was born 10 weeks premature and caught a bug while in hospital and has required oxygen ever since.

Kaitlyn suffers from 18 medical conditions including ceribal palsy, epilepsy, scoliosis, communicating hydrocephalus, oesophageal dysmotility, hypotonia with central origin, feeding difficulties, hip dysplasia, chronic neonatal lung disease, global developmental delay, gastrostomy, macrocephaly, tracheomalacia, laryngomalacia, plagiocephaly, intellectual impairment, obstructive sleep apnea with hyper-ventilation and auto immune disease.

For the past 3 years, Kaitlyn has been using medical cannabis oil after pharmaceutical drugs were causing up to 60 seizures a day, making life near unbearable.

Since using medical cannabis oil, Kaitlyn’s seizures have been reduced to 1 to 2 every three weeks.

Ms Hanson said “What medical cannabis has done for this child and her family is nothing short of miraculous and the evidence speaks for itself.”

The change in treatment has also meant a reduced number of visits and hospital stays, saving the health budget millions by not having to call ‘triple-0’ every day and freeing up a hospital bed for other serious patients.

“This family is no longer house bound, Kaitlyn and her mother are now able to get out into the community and have a better quality of life as a result of medical cannabis oil.”

While authorities, Government and Lady Cilento Hospital have turned a blind eye to Katrina’s use of medical cannabis oil for the past 3 years, hospital staff have backflipped claiming that if Kaitlyn is in the hospitals care, she will be given regular pharmaceutical medication that does not agree with her body.

The warning by Andrew Hallahan, Director of Medical Services at Lady Cilento Hospital has meant when Kaitlyn’s 6 month prescription of oxygen runs out at the end of October, she will not receive a renewal without undergoing a hospital stay for a sleep study. The overnight study would starve Kaitlyn of 6 daily doses of medical cannabis oil, leaving her vulnerable to seizures.

While calls by Mrs Spraggon for a meeting with Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick have gone unanswered, the desperate mother has pleaded with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk with no success.

“Katrina has asked all levels of Government for a very simple outcome. She simply wants a fresh script for oxygen. No strings attached, just oxygen.”

“The public have always suspected our parliaments are full of oxygen thieves, now this just proves it” the Senator said.

Senator Hanson spoke with Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt on Friday who has promised to look into this matter urgently, but time is ticking.

“I will not see this child go through resuscitation again as a result of heartless politicians. These are people in need and it’s this heartless Labor Government’s lack of will to do something that is preventing sensible outcomes.”

Senator Hanson has called on Cameron Dick for a meeting, however his office refuses to respond to the request.

“I suspect Cameron Dick is too busy ordering election material and counting his corflutes than to deal with people’s issues in his portfolio.”

“You bet I’m angry at this bloody mindedness - he lives up to his name by nature.”

-- END -- Contact Katrina Spraggon 0428 078 785 Hanson Media 0418 147 366