Dilemma over tumour girl

As four-year-old Chelsea Burke recovered from treatment in a New York clinic yesterday her health authority in Kent was deciding if it should pay for her treatment, writes Celia Hall.

Chelsea, from Herne, has a brain tumour and doctors in Britain said there was no more they could do for her. Yesterday at the University Medical Center in New York, she was in intensive care after a seven-hour operation during which most of the tumour was removed.

Chelsea has had two brain operations, radiotherapy and chemotherapy at Kent hospitals and at Guy's and the Maudsley hospitals in London. The East Kent Commissioning Agency, which buys health services for the local population, can get permission to spend NHS money abroad if comparable treatment is not available in Britain or in European Union countries.

Richard Murrells, assistant chief executive, said yesterday: "Chelsea's parents decided that they wanted her treated in America. We are seeing if this meets the criteria for NHS funding for overseas treatment."