Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a cuid ceisteanna. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil fadhb mhór againn leis na seirbhísí sin agus tá brón orm faoi. I know from my own experience, having worked in medicine as a doctor in what seems a long time ago now, that the problem of failures and inadequate services when it comes to spinal surgery, scoliosis and spina bifida surgery for children, goes back generations, sadly. It goes back many more lifetimes than these children have yet experienced. I guarantee that if it had ever been an issue simply of money, political will or how much we care about this, it would have been resolved a long time ago. I do not have adequate answers as to why it has not been fixed but I intend to do anything I can to establish why not and to put things right. The Deputy has my assurance on that point and I would be happy to work with her, provided it is in good faith, to deal with this issue because it should not be a political football. I know that is not the Deputy’s intention but there are others who would make it such. We need to stand together against those and work together to resolve this issue, which will take more than one Government to solve, in my view, but at least, let us get started on it.

At the outset, I want to acknowledge that there is no doubting the worry, anxiety and pain for many patients and families attending these services. A comprehensive patient safety review has been commissioned into paediatric orthopaedic surgery services. This is independent and is led by independent expert Mr. Selvadurai Nayagam. Concerns initially related to the clinical outcomes of some complex surgery, including what appears to be a higher than normal incidence of post-operative complications and infections and two serious surgical incidents. This, of course, does not necessarily mean that somebody did something wrong. These may have been high-risk patients that other doctors would not operate on but we need to make sure we know the facts before we make any further decisions.

Two additional patient groups are now being included. Patients have been randomly selected for the purpose of audit and patients have been identified as potential cases of concern by other surgeons in CHI. Those directly affected have been informed and patient advocates have also been informed. After meeting with the paediatric orthopaedic surgeons, the Minister for Health has also determined that a dedicated paediatric spinal surgery unit should be established. Mr. David Moore, a consultant surgeon, has recently been appointed to head it up. The Minister met him in January. Senior staff have been appointed to the new unit and the Minister has requested that a task force be convened as soon as possible with an independent chair. The task force will include all stakeholders, including patient representatives and clinicians. This is a model that has worked well in other areas, such as haemophilia and cystic fibrosis.

The Minister wrote to all advocacy groups and invited them to meet with him, seeking their engagement and views on the terms of reference for this task force, which will have an independent chairperson.

He met with a number of the groups earlier this week. The Minister's invitation to meet those who did not attend or request separate meetings remains open. Mr. Nayagam has met with the Minister for Health, families, patient representatives and other stakeholders following which he finalised the terms of reference for his independent review. In addition, the Minister has asked HIQA, the independent patient safety regulator, to carry out a statutory review of springs that were not see CE marked.

On waiting lists, we have increased the numbers of procedures being carried out significantly. In 2019, which we often use as a base year for comparison because it was the year before the pandemic, 380 spinal procedures were carried out. That went up to 509 in 2022. In 2023, 464 procedures were carried out. There has been a big increase in the number of procedures being carried out and waiting lists have gone down. As of the end of last year, 78 patients were on the active waiting list, which was a reduction. Some 231 patients are awaiting spinal procedures.

I am advised by the Department of Health that Sinn Féin has miscalculated the waiting list figures. The claim that 327 children are on the waiting list is incorrect, even if those who are only waiting a few weeks are included.

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