to all GN's living in France 4 year old boy missing

Worth adding that the family travelled from Portsmouth arriving in Cherbourg yesterday evening.

This boy comes from a large very loving family. I am sure that his parents only have his best interests at heart and may well be on their way to a better treatment option than he was getting in the UK. They seem to be being treated as kidnappers!

Yes I agree Joelsnan it's very sad.

According to the Mail Online today, they are Jehovah's Witnesses. I am not sure what their beliefs are regarding treatment.

Trust the Daily Wail to point that out.I do know Jehovah Witnesses don't believe in blood donation but they aren't like Christian Scientists who don't believe in any medical care but feel prayer is the answer. They do have medical treatment. This boy is with his parents so they are hardly kidnappers. I think until we know more of the facts treating the parents like criminals is not helpful.

Couldn't agree more Joelsnan and dorsetpennt. They are not criminals... how can you 'kidnap' your own child? They probably know they will get much more modern/better treatment in France

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out !

Actually I haven't seen any comment that has been unfair to the parents and the message I have gained from the Police and media has been in a caring fashion for the welfare of the child.

Can I just say that the fact the family are believed to be Jehovah Witnesses is mentioned by The Guardian and BBC also.

I don't see why that is an issue?.. Perhaps having that intelligence and the fact the police and media, both in print and on t.v, are mentioning that point could be for no other reason than they will have a community that they could be looking to for help as they are obviously in a state of mind that is not apparent at the moment.

Joelsnan loving families do not always make good judgements, especially when they have a seriously sick child. Distress can cloud judgement. Travelling away from an NHS teaching hospital with a child who is needing intensive nursing is probably not a good call.

The little boy was removed from Southampton General Hospital which is a 'centre of excellence' for cancer care. People travel from all over to be treated there so I would be surprised if the standard of care was an issue in the parents' decision.

I fear this will not end well, parents are clearly not thinking straight.

It has just been top of the news on French TV.
I agree Notso. There are lots of good things about health care in France but I can't think that it would be of any benefit to remove him from a centre of excellence like Southampton under these circumstances.

I repeat my post od 15,45.
IT does not really bode well IMO

Oh dear. If I've got my facts right, I don't think they have broken any laws and surely have the right to remove their child from the hospital unless he's been made a Ward of Court. Or is that not so?

I would assume they'd taken him to France for different treatment, or perhaps wanted to spend some time together as a family before he dies....but maybe not - it's all conjecture anyway and we don't know anything about the case apart from what we've been told in the media.

It's a very difficult and distressing case though - and I heard this evening that vital support which is battery-operated, will run out this evening. All we can do is send loving vibes to them all. Fingers firmly crossed that they are found safely and that the law treats them gently.

The poor child has a Gr4 cancerous brain tumour Gr4 being the most aggressive, according to a blog by his brother.
Who knows what the parents are thinking but with an almost terminal diagnosis which may be imminent, maybe they wanted to take control of the inevitable and allow it to occur with all the family around in a setting of their choice.
I am sure if they had been happy with the treatment and the prognosis was improving, no loving parent would move their child, and these appear to be a loving family according to all reports.

Yes completely agree Rowantree. I hope when they are found the media are kept well away from them.

Unfortunately that is unlikely to happen, penguinpaperback. There will be a nauseating media scrum to bag the best /most intrusive and voyeuristic story. Anything that will bring the press a nice fat profit

I'm not going to argue but remember the media outlets have run this story for almost 24 hours non stop and they have played a huge part in trying to fine the little lad by giving out the details of the car registration and numbers to call if seen.

I find the whole issue quite frightening, does it now mean if you take your child into Hospital they become the 'property' of the doctors? With the legal guardians(parents) having no say in the life of their child.
Surely unless the child has been made a ward of court, which has probably now been done retrospectively the parents are still his legal guardians?
How do we know that he is not already recieving medical treatment on mainland Europe, it is not the third world they have taken him to.
It is being made to look as though he has been kidnapped, what crime have the parents committed???

I think if they turned up at any reputable medical facility the staff would persuade them to call Soton General and set everyone's minds at rest. it would not be a routine event for such a very sick child to arrive with a feeding tube etc. Questions would be asked.
There are, unfortunately, a number of unscrupulous (or extremely misguided) private doctors who run clinics that offer "miracle" cures - in other words they exploit the terminally ill. They cannot easily operate in countries like the UK where it is illegal to advertise a cure for cancer.

The reason that the medics etc are so exercised I think is because of the way that this was done. If the parents had discussed with the doctors their wish to take the child elsewhere, then proper plans could have been made to connect up with another hospital abroad, to make sure he had batteries for his feeding device, to send over the medical history etc.

Instead they just "did a moonight flit" which raises concerns all round.

He is not the property of the doctors, but they do have a duty to make sure he gets proper care and the chance to live (if that is possible).

I can understand that the parents might have feared that he would be made a ward of court if they let the hospital know their plans and wishes, and it does sound as though they have other plans for this lad than medical opportunities to save his life.

It is a dilemma for the medics - their understanding of what is possible is better than the parents; but on the other hand the parents know their child best and may feel differently about treatment. It is always difficult when this happens, as religious beliefs may stand in the way of providing a minor (who cannot express his wishes well) a chance of life.

I wonder what we would be doing if we were in the medics' shoes?

Goodness

, Surely if you thought you were going to take your son out of hospital at such a young age, after having an operation for a brain tumour, fed through equipment that has a battery life you would discuss it with the doctors, at least mention it.
Would you honestly do that because you have parental control and suffer the consequences to prove a point.

The concern is the care the little lad is getting and that's been the concern all along.

Ashya didn't have tonsilitis or a broken arm where you could help.

Exactly POGS - this is the concern. The parents have not acted in a rational way and are likely to be putting this child at risk. But it is possible they are motivated by religious beliefs and are not open to rational discussion about it.

We have to hope that he is found and gets the care he needs.