'Those who neglect, attack and undermine our NHS are no friends of ours'

15 February 2023 , 00:01

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The revolutionary treatment to save Teddi Shaw would not be possible were it not for our precious NHS (Image: PA)

The joy and agony of parents who know one child will be saved but not the other is turning their world upside down.

We will all give praise for an NHS funding a revolutionary £3million one-time treatment to stop little Teddi Shaw, aged 19 months, dying in a few years from a devastating disease that ravages the nervous system and organs.

Teddi’s effectively cured but we also share the family’s heartbreak that the breakthrough is too late for her sister Nala, three, because the disease has inflicted irreversible damage.

Parents Ally and Jake, in Northumberland, know that without the NHS there would be no miracle for Teddi. No ordinary family could afford the cost, the price of life beyond the reach of all except the wealthiest minority.

So let us give thanks for Teddi and collectively vow to fight for a precious public service.

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

Those who neglect, attack and undermine the NHS are no friends of ours.

Teddi Shaw (left) as become the first child in the UK to receive a revolutionary gene therapy for a fatal disorder, but tragically her sister Nala's (right) case is too advanced to treat (PA)

Help not hell

Ukrainian President Volodymyr ­Zelensky’s plea for jets is not likely to be assuaged by Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a minute’s silence on February 24 to mark the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion.

The gesture is likely to be largely unobserved not because people do not care but they lead busy lives and know what Kyiv needs is ­military hardware and other support.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hold a press conference (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia’s controlled by a desperate commander with nuclear weapons. Deploying British forces would be a dangerous escalation.

Training troops in Oman is one thing. But no one wants to start the Third World War.

Strike back

The exoneration of Liverpool fans unfairly blamed for chaos in Paris at last year’s Champions League final must not be the end of this matter.

When supporters were smeared as they were at the Hillsborough tragedy in 1989, those responsible deserve to be held accountable, starting with governing body UEFA.

Voice of the Mirror