Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There were 233 children on a waiting list for spinal surgery at Children’s Health Ireland, CHI, hospitals at the end of February. Of those children, 43 who had been approved for surgery had been waiting more than six months and 15 of those had been kept waiting for more than a year. These children are in agony. It is a national shame on us all that they are kept waiting so long. This morning, "The Oliver Callan Show" radio programme heard from Louise and Alannah Collins, mother and sister to 14-year-old Daniel Collins from Tralee. Daniel has severe scoliosis. In the 14 months since he was told he needed surgery, his surgeon in Crumlin has not been able to offer him a single date. His back initially had a curve of 22 degrees. There is now a 95% curvature to his spine so he will need two surgeries and has no date for either of them. Advocating for Daniel on the airwaves is not something that Louise or Alannah should have to do. They painted a heartbreaking picture of the real-life impact of dysfunction in the health service.

The thought of a child in pain is appalling. Persistent pain or worsening health are the last things any of us want for our own children or for anyone’s child. We all know Children’s Health Ireland has important work to do to ensure the protection of children's health. It is tasked with ensuring our children receive the highest standards of care when they are sick. It is also overseeing the movement of three hospitals onto the new campus at St. James’s Hospital. We will now be wondering whether Children’s Health Ireland will ever fulfil its commitment to provide surgery to children like Daniel within four months. The publication of this latest HIQA report on spinal surgeries compounds these fears. The resignation of the board’s chair, Dr. Jim Browne, yesterday only further confirms the doubts and concerns. It reports so-called experimental spinal surgeries and unnecessary surgeries. We know about the lengthening waiting lists and doubts about so many aspects of the move to the national children’s hospital. Some commentators are suggesting since yesterday that problems at CHI start and end with the actions of one rogue surgeon. However, while the details of reckless experimentation are horrifying, clearly the problems at CHI go deeper than that.

The HIQA report is deeply concerning in indicating systemic failures at a broader level. With more reports to come, what is obvious now is that there is a dysfunctional culture and that trust must be restored. It is difficult for parents to hand children over to an institution that has been criticised, as CHI has been by HIQA. With this damning report, and more to come, it is hard to see trust being restored without robust action. Looking at how that robust action may now be taken, I ask, first, whether the Government will examine the model used following the cervical check scandal and how trust was rebuilt there? I am thinking of the important work of the 221+ Group, for example. Second, can the Taoiseach say whether the board of CHI now retains his confidence and that of the Minister for Health? I am thinking of all those families impacted by the use of corrosive springs, families waiting on a surgery date and of course thousands of children waiting for the opening of a world-class children’s hospital who are awaiting the Taoiseach's response on this.

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