Ashya King: NHS agrees to fund proton beam therapy in Czech Republic

Ashya, who is battling a brain tumour, is currently in Prague to undergo proton beam treatment, after his parents took him out of a UK hospital sparking a Europe-wide manhunt for their arrest

The NHS has agreed to fund Ashya King's treatment in the Czech Republic (Reuters)

The NHS has announced it is going to pay for Ashya King’s proton beam therapy in the Czech Republic.

Five-year-old brain tumour sufferer Ashya was taken from Southampton General Hospital on 28 August by his parents who did not want him to undergo traditional chemotherapy.

His removal, without medical approval, sparked a Europe-wide manhunt for parents Brett and Naghmeh King, who were arrested in Spain and separated from their son for days.

The parents’ detainment led to a public outcry, after the couple travelled to Spain to sell their holiday home to fund the alternative treatment not usually available on the NHS. A European Arrest Warrant actioned by the Crown Prosecution Service was also withdrawn.

“Our thoughts are with Ashya and his family as he begins follow-on radiotherapy,” a spokesman for NHS England said, referring to the boy who is currently in Prague to receive 30 sessions of proton beam therapy.

“Now that Ashya is in Prague, it is clearly best that Ashya continues to be treated uninterrupted so the NHS has agreed to fund this care, as requested by his parents, in accordance with relevant European cross-border arrangements.

“We all join in wishing him well, and greatly hope he makes a full and successful recovery.”

Dr Ondrova, Ashya’s attending doctor at the Proton Therapy Centre, said earlier this month: “There is a 70 to 80 per cent survival rate for the condition such as Ashya has and there is now every reason to hope that he will make a full recovery.”

A graphic by the Proton Therapy Centre comparing the alternative treatment with conventional radiotherapy (Proton Therapy Centre)

Proton beam therapy is more precise than conventional radiotherapy decreasing the dose given to extraneous parts of the body, such as his larynx, heart, liver and intestines by 80 per cent.

The clinic says on its website: “Proton therapy can be much better modulated and precisely focused into the tumour volume.

“In case of irradiation of medulloblastoma in Ashya, it is necessary to apply the highest possible dose into the former location but protect the tissue around as much as possible.

“In Ashya's case, those are vital structures of the heart, lung, liver and intestines.”