NEWS


The Handley family


Macy Handley


Date set for Macy’s life-changing surgery


The police officer parents of 12-year-old Macy Handley have heaped praise on well-wishers who have made it possible for her to have life-changing spinal surgery. Toby and Kerry Handley, who


both work for West Midlands Police, issued an appeal to help them raise the £90,000 they needed for the pioneering operation. They had already raised £50,000 but within weeks hit their initial target. “We cannot thank West Midlands


Police Federation enough. The Federation published our appeal and we had such overwhelming support. I don’t know what we would have done without everyone’s help. We would have got to the total we needed, we would have found the money somehow I am sure, but it would probably have meant re- mortgaging our home and, of course, that would have a long-term impact on the whole family,” said Kerry. “We are completely indebted


to everyone who has helped us. All too often in policing we see the challenging side of human nature but the outpouring of support from people, many of whom are complete strangers, has just blown us away.” The West Midlands Police


Benevolent Fund donated £5,000 to the appeal and West Midlands Police Federation has agreed to give the family £1,000 to help with the ongoing costs involved in terms of travelling to and from London for consultations, hotel accommodation and so on. Toby, a firearms trainer and a former professional rugby player,


has also been buoyed by support from his former team mates. The couple noticed in July 2019


that Macy, who is also autistic, had a lump near her spine. An x-ray uncovered abnormal curves in her spine as well as a rotation. Diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis, she had to wear a restrictive and uncomfortable brace 20 hours a day. But further scans revealed the


curve had increased and spinal fusion was considered. But Vertebral Body Tethering


(VBT), which is like an internal brace, offers an alternative since the recovery is much quicker than fusion, there is better range of movement afterwards and scarring is less prominent. Kerry, who works in the early


resolution team at Coventry, admits that the build-up to the surgery is having a massive mental impact on the whole family, including Macy’s younger sister and brother. The operation will be carried out


at St George’s Hospital in London on 8 June. The family believed the £90,000 appeal fund would cover the operation and any follow-ups. But it only covers the initial operation and five days’ hospital care. “We’ve been advised to adjust


our overall target to £110,000 to help cover the costs of follow- up consultations for the next three years while Macy’s spine is still growing and also for physiotherapy,” says Kerry. Find out more and support the


appeal at www.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/macy-handley


Police officer uplift should go further says Federation


The police officer uplift programme should not only replace the numbers lost during austerity but exceed them, the Federation said. John Apter, our National Chair,


commented that the latest Home Office figures showing 8,771 officers were recruited during the first full year of the uplift was ‘a good start’. He went on to say: “This is bringing us back to pre-austerity numbers after decades of harsh cuts but the service is far from having the numbers needed to be able to police in the way we want to. With an increasing population, the goal for the Government should not just to be to replace the officers we have lost but to instead exceed this target so our colleagues have the resilience they need to serve the public effectively.” Police forces in England and


Wales shed a shocking 21,732 officers between 2010 and 2018. As of 31 March 2021, police numbers had recovered to 137,704 (including 45,996 women and 10,218 minority ethnic officers). As of April, organisations that


employ Armed Forces veterans now enjoy a one-year exemption from paying National Insurance contributions for those employees. John commented: “Forces need


to grab this opportunity with both hands and do all they can to recruit people with life experience, and this includes ex-military who can contribute so much to policing. We need police officers from all walks of life, different ages and different backgrounds to represent the communities they serve.”


27 I POLICE I JUNE 2021


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