THE President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, has said every support and care should be made available to children in Limerick and elsewhere who are facing serious illnesses, and that their families should be spared any additional burdens.
Presidents Higgins was responding to a request for his view as president about the scandal of children waiting years for lifesaving orthopaedic surgeries due to a lack of surgical theatres and surgeons.
A spokesman for President Higgins said that while “it would not be appropriate” for the present to comment on individual cases, “the President is deeply conscious of the pain which children suffering from complex conditions and their families experience”.
“Throughout his time as President, and prior to that as a member of the Oireachtas, President Higgins has emphasised the importance of ensuring all appropriate care and supports are available to all children facing serious illnesses wherever possible.”
The President, the spokesman added, was also adamant “that families who are already dealing with significant challenges and traumas do not have to face any additional burdens”.
The president’s remarks come as waiting lists, presently including around 300 children awaiting spinal surgery and other orthopaedic procedures, were once again recently thrust into the spotlight after a referral by the Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) hospital group of one of the country’s top paediatric orthopaedic surgeons to the Irish Medical Council (IMC) last September.
CHI referred Mr Connor Green to the IMC after concerns were raised about the death of a patient with spina bifida, as well as the outcomes of surgery for others with the condition.
The OrthoKids Ireland group, comprising of 150 families of children on Mr Green’s surgery list, have called on the IMC to expedite its investigation. It has also called on CHI to ask Mr Green to return to work after he took voluntary leave last September.
Mr Green, and his colleague, Professor Damian McCormack, highlighted “inadequate” and “chaotic” services for children with orthopaedic conditions at a meeting of an Oireachtas health committee in late 2021.
At the time, CHI chief executive Eilish Hardiman apologised to patients and their families for long wait times for surgery.
A fortnight ago, the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly admitted before an Oireachtas Joint and Select Committee on Health that the government was “failing many of these children in the context of the length of time they are obliged to wait”.
Minister Donnelly said he had allocated a €19million investment fund, part of which was spent on a second MRI machine in Crumlin Children’s Hospital, a fifth operating theatre at Temple Street Children’s Hospital, and additional beds and staff.
Mr Donnelly however, said he was “not satisfied that the €19million has been allocated according to my very clear direction on prioritisation for orthopaedics, with a very clear focus on paediatric spinal work”.
Last week Minister Donnelly said he was in favour of establishing a task-force which would expedite reduction of the waiting lists. He said is also establishing a dedicated spinal surgery unit.
The Minister has also acknowledged that some patient advocacy groups have boycotted a review of surgical outcomes under Mr Green by independent reviewer Dr Selvadurai Nayagam.
Last week it emerged that the review of 19 patient cases was experiencing delays and that it was been extended to include 17 more cases of concern.
Una Keightley, co-lead of the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy group (SBHPAG), said that, in her opinion, the review has been extended because of a lack of engagement by parents “who have no trust in CHI or the HSE”.
“The majority of the 19 cases have indicated they do not wish to have their child’s case details reviewed. They feel the review must encompass more than the focus of one surgeon and it must look at the widespread failures across the CHI network and CHI mismanagement of the situation,” Ms Keightley added.
Last week, the Ombudsman for Children, Niall Muldoon, criticised the government’s handling of the waiting lists and called on it to honour a commitment it made seven years ago that no scoliosis patient would have to wait for surgery for longer than four months.
“This is a promise they (the government) made to these children and it has been repeatedly broken with devastating consequences,” Mr Muldoon said.
