Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is disappointing the Minister for Health is not here because I was hoping for an answer to this question. I want to raise the issue of Miley McKee again. I raised it three weeks ago. Miley is a 12-year-old girl from Greystones. She has been waiting two years and four months for her scoliosis treatment. She has a curvature of more than 100° and is in constant pain. As a GP, the Tánaiste knows the impact having a curvature of that degree would have on a child. She has been waiting since August 2020. She was meant to have her operation in September. It was cancelled because there were not enough paediatric nurses to look after her after the operation. A tracheostomy nurse was required. When I asked Children's Health Ireland this week how many tracheostomy nurses it has, it quite flippantly replied that it has a large number of tracheostomy trained nurses in Temple Street hospital. Why is it not using one of that large number of tracheostomy nurses to make sure that Miley gets the operation she needs? She is in constant pain. I do not say this lightly. This is actually child abuse. When will Miley have her operation?

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