A NANTYGLO mother had her hopes dashed after she was told her two-year old daughter could not be given a special diet to help her medical condition.

Little Ellie Pyle suffers from a mystery illness, leaving her with poor sight, hearing, co-ordination, and frequent epileptic fits.

Mum, Sarah Smart, 24, said the NHS funded a visit to a dietician specialist in London last month, to find a diet that would help control Ellie’s fits.

At the moment, Ellie is tube-fed milk formula directly into her stomach, but Miss Smart says the London dietician recommended using an alternative formula called KetoCal, which was then sent out to them. The powdered formula contains milk protein and other supplements which help to manage epilepsy.

This Ketogenic diet has to be carefully calculated for every individual and can only be carried out under the supervision of a dietician and physician.

But this month, Miss Smart says her dietician at Abergavenny's Nevill Hall Hospital told her Ellie cannot go on the diet because there is no supporting structure for delivering the ketogenic treatment in Wales.

Miss Smart said she’s also been told that the formula she was sent cannot be accepted back and will be destroyed.

Miss Smart said: “I’m very annoyed. In my heart I hoped that this was going to work and to then be told that we can’t even start, it’s very hard.”

She said Ellie's fits have worsened over the past two weeks, with her suffering three or four every day.

Miss Smart said Ellie’s recent physiotherapy courses have been going well as she is starting to be able to roll herself over.

But she had hoped the new diet would help control the fits, standing Ellie in good stead for her physiotherapy.

Bleanau Gwent Local Health Board say the Health Commission Wales (HCW) is responsible for Ellie’s case.

A HCW spokesman said he couldn't comment on individual cases, but said that where clinically appropriate, HCW will commission a full support package for patients needing a ketogenic diet.

He said where access to highly specialised treatment is required patients may need to travel, adding that HCW is happy to consider funding such treatment. He said funding requests should be made to HCW by the patient's clinician.