Posted online: Jun 23rd, 2009

By Connla Young

connla@derrypost.com

The father of a seriously ill County Derry baby has lodged an official complaint to the Belfast Trust about the “quality of care” given to his daughter.

Gary McCann last night confirmed he has lodged a formal complaint about a doctor at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH).

Gary’s daughter Katie suffers from a rare for of epilepsy and has a number of complex medical conditions.

The 21-month-old toddler is currently being treated at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Mr McCann called for the doctor to be suspended from his post until a full probe has been carried out.

Mr McCann also complained about the quality of care his “daughter had and has received under the care of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children”.

The doting dad recently met with health minister Michael McGimpsey to complain about the inadequate resources available for children with epilepsy in the North.

And last night the battling dad renewed his call for people across the county to help raise cash for to cover the cost of Katie’s care in America.

“Since coming to America Katie has made great progress,” explained Gary. “But this has come at great expense. The difficulty we face as parents is that if we come home Katie will start to regress because of the lack of resources available.

“We have to stay here to ensure Katie continues to move forward. The Department of Health won’t help us with cost so we have had to rely on the generosity of the people of this county. To date that generosity has known no limits. We are only out here because of people’s dedication to helping Katie. But we still need people’s help in organising fundraising events so that we can ensure Katie continues to receive the best possible treatment available.”

A spokesman for the Belfast Trust, which manages the Royal Victoria Hospital, said they do not comment on individual cases.

For more information visit www.keepbabykatieawake.com.