Teenager set for back surgery

Kayleigh's parents say she is in constant pain

A Birmingham girl is going into hospital for a corrective spine operation after the intervention of the Department of Health.

Kayleigh Glen, 13, is being admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on Thursday ahead of the corrective spine surgery, which is expected to take place on Friday.

The DoH stepped in after Kayleigh's parents were told she would have to wait more than three weeks for the operation to prevent titanium rods previously inserted in her back from breaking through her skin.

Officials asked a senior NHS manager in the West Midlands to ensure that Kayleigh, who is blind and unable to speak, was treated "promptly".

The only reason they are doing it now is because of the amount of press and the trouble they have got themselves into

Karen Glen, Kayleigh's mother

Solihull Conservative MP John Taylor has tabled a question in parliament asking the health secretary to make a statement on Kayeligh's case.

Although Kayleigh's parents welcomed the news of the operation, they said the only reason it was being carried out now was because of media publicity.

Her mother Karen said: "Kayleigh has had to suffer for three weeks.

"The only reason they are doing it now is because of the amount of press and the trouble they have got themselves into.

Private operation

"They expect me to be happy or grateful but they should have done the operation when the first got the facts."

Kayleigh had rods put in her back to straighten her spine but they have twisted out of place.

The original operation was carried out in private by a surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

The rods could pierce Kayleigh's skin

Kayleigh's parents said the hospital had told them the 30-minute operation would have to wait because of a shortage of beds.

Doctors at the Children's Hospital in Birmingham, which is closer to their home in Solihull, were reluctant to become involved in surgical work that had been carried out elsewhere.

Kayleigh's mother Karen said her daughter had been left in agony and was constantly taking painkillers.

'Great sympathy'

On Wednesday, in a statement to the BBC's Midlands Today programme, the Department of Health said: "We have great sympathy with Kayleigh and her parents.

"We have today asked a senior local NHS manager in the West Midlands to step in and get all the doctors involved together to decide what is the best way forward for Kayleigh's treatment.

"We want to ensure that treatment is carried out promptly."