MedCan Family Foundation

Despite a 2018 schedule change to allow patients to access safe medical cannabis products under the guidance of clinicians on the specialist register; patients are still faced with multiple barriers, including misinformation, stigma, and financial constraints. As parents of severely ill children, with complex needs we understand the daily pressures of their care. Having campaigned for over 2-years for access to NHS prescriptions, we actively encourage parents and carers to have open dialogue with their clinicians, which will break down barriers and accelerate access of medicinal cannabis within the NHS. MedCan Support is a charity and central hub for education and support for families wishing to learn about or be prescribed medical cannabis for their child suffering refractory epilepsy. Working alongside international paediatric clinicians and researchers, to allow families to make informed choices for their child. MedCan Support also aim to support families financially. With zero NHS access and families having to fund private prescriptions at high costs, this adds to the already stressful environment. The impact of learning your child has a very severe illness, one that has no cure and many suffering severe disabilities and developmental delay, knowing life will be completely different to what you imagined. This can cause severe anxiety, depression, PTSD and can be very common among parents. With the added burden of funding private prescriptions, we aim to support families financially with grants for mental health support, respite, holidays and specialist equipment.