MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE CHILD-B CASE

The case of a girl with leukaemia, known as Child B, hit the headlines in March 1995 when her father refused to accept the advice of doctors who counselled against further treatment and took Cambridge and Hunti ngdon Health Authority to court for refusing to fund chemotherapy and a second bone transplant for her in the private sector. British nation al newspapers varied greatly in the way they covered the case. Some pa id little attention to clinical considerations and presented the case as an example of rationing based on financial considerations. Their se lective presentations meant that anyone reading just one newspaper wou ld have received only limited and partial information. If members of t he public are to participate in debates about treatment decisions and health care rationing, means other than the media will need to be foun d to inform and involve them.