Colchester: Mum Calls For NHS To Fund Rare Condition

28 March 2012, 06:15 | Updated: 28 March 2012, 06:20

A Colchester mum is calling for the NHS to fund treatment for her son's rare condition, as well as others with the same.

Finley Keeling has deformational plagiocephaly, which is also known as 'flat-head syndrome'. It's a condition that forces his head to take on an abnormal shape and is sometimes caused by the way the baby's positioned in the womb.

At the moment, the NHS does not fund treatment for the condition as it is seen as a purely cosmetic issue, but current research suggests that there is a link between head shape abnormality and visual and auditory development problems later in life.

The 10-month-old has been wearing a special helmet for more than 12 weeks and also has to undergo physiotherapy.

His mum, Stacey has been telling Heart it's unfair that she has to foot the bill: "Treatment costs £1,950. I know there is a charity to help low income families but it would be good if they (NHS) could help a little bit."

"I never heard about it (the condition). They don't tell you about it in your antenatal. They just said that he would grow out of it. They didn't even give me a name for it. There are lots of things that can prevent it. You can buy pillows that cost about £8 off the Internet that will prevent the flat head."