John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I was asked to put the following information on the record because people hear about hip dysplasia and what it means is important. We are talking about children and their families. If the witnesses do not mind, I want to read this. It was given to me by Senator Maria McCormack, one of my colleagues, and involves a person in the constituency in which the Senator lives. The people involved said they do not mind being named but I am not going to name them. It involves a boy who is now 11 years old. He was originally referred to Temple Street Hospital where a doctor, who I will not name, advised that his left hip required replacement but that the right hip was fine. The left hip was subsequently operated on. However, in 2018, they were called back and told that the right hip also needed replacing despite this young boy having no issues with that hip.

Trusting the medical advice, the family agreed to the second surgery. That turned out to be a devastating decision, in the family's own words. From the moment of the second operation, the little boy's quality of life deteriorated dramatically. He went from being fully toilet trained to fully incontinent. He lost feeling in his hip area and is now unable to tell when he has soiled himself. At just 11 years old, he now wears nappies daily and has to be changed up to five times a day. The little boy has been left with permanent bowel issues, going from 14 to 20 days without any bowel movements. The only response from the hospital has been to increase laxatives, which have brought no real relief or improvement.

The family are absolutely heartbroken. Not only did the surgery change their son's life in the worst possible way, but they are now faced with the reality that it may have been unnecessary in the first place. They say the psychological and emotional toll of that realisation is immeasurable. It is important to put that on the record as to what this actually means. Correct me if I am wrong on the figure, but did Ms Nugent say that 1,757 letters had sent out?