Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Today I want to talk about Ivy. Ivy was born with cerebral palsy and also suffers from hip dysplasia and neuromuscular scoliosis. In 2016, when she was 13, Ivy was told she would need spinal fusion surgery at Temple Street. At that point the curvature on her spine was 30 degrees. Years passed but there was no surgery. As the curve in her spine increased, Ivy endured excruciating pain and discomfort. Unlike other teenagers she was unable to meet her friends and socialise. By 2019, her deteriorating health meant she was only able to attend school for one day a week. On occasion her condition was so bad she was unable to breathe. The Minister should think about that for a moment. A child in this country was waiting so long for surgery, she was left in horrific pain, denied an education and on occasion was unable to breathe. Imagine being the parent of that child, watching her suffer for years and feeling utterly helpless and utterly hopeless.

In Ivy's case it was 2021 before she finally got her surgery. By then the curve in her spine had increased from 30 degrees to more than 135 degrees. The Ombudsman for Children has today released a damning report about Ivy's care, detailing the delay in treatment and lack of communication from the hospital. When I read the report, I was struck that Ivy, despite all the trauma and pain she endured, was thinking of others. She expressed her gratitude and appreciation for the medical staff at the hospital. She said she knew they had a difficult job and are finding it hard to fulfil their responsibilities to children and young adults like her.

Desperately sick children and their families are being failed, not because of medical teams but because of a lack of resources. In 2016, we first heard promises from the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, that no child with scoliosis would wait longer than four months for treatment. That promise was never kept. Ivy waited for five years. As of May, 309 children were waiting for scoliosis treatment. Alarmingly we learned earlier this month that complex spinal surgeries for children with spina bifida at Temple Street have been paused since last year.

I have a number of questions. When did the pause in surgeries at Temple Street commence? How long will surgeries be suspended for? How many children are impacted by this? How long have those children been waiting for surgery? When will the fifth operating theatre at Temple Street, which was supposed to be completed last year, be ready? When will the commitment to provide scoliosis treatment within four months actually be kept?

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