Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this question. We have all been utterly appalled by the information we received and that we have been made aware of this week.

As the Deputy mentioned, the information in the HIQA report sets out very clearly that a number of springs that were not medically approved were implanted into the bodies of three small children. The springs were corrosive and can be corroded. This is what happened. The devastation, pain and hurt inflicted on these three young children and their families are unimaginable. The Government and the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, are acting and will do everything possible to support those families to understand what has happened, make sure that it does not happen again, and that if any other children are impacted, they will be identified and the children and family will be supported.

Most importantly, the recommendations that were set out in the HIQA report that was published this week are already being acted on. Nine recommendations are for implementation specifically by CHI. Another nine recommendations are specifically for the HSE. There are also further recommendations, and many of them are being acted on.

In addition, the chair of CHI has stepped back, which we welcome. The surgeon responsible, who decided to put these non-surgical instruments into children's bodies, is suspended. We must now ensure that the hospital can operate and that there are changes in the areas where there were failures and proper procedures were not followed.

It is unimaginable that children would be put through surgery for developmental dysplasia of the hip where it is not needed. None of us disagree with that. All of us, especially those of us who have small children, are appalled by even the thought that a child who is already in pain and struggling would have to go through unnecessary surgery.

An audit is taking place. It is being carried out at the direction of the HSE and the Minister for Health. At the moment, there is no information to suggest that any patient safety incident has occurred. At the same time, I will not try to predict the outcome of the audit, nor can anyone else do so. Contact is being made with parents and families of children who have had operations in recent years. I agree that if there are potentially more cases stretching back further and that families of children need to be written to, that is exactly what must happen.

If proper procedures were not followed, we must understand why that happened. If changes need to take place, we must also understand why that is the case, but we cannot throw out the baby with the bathwater. We need to ensure that the board is still in place and that we can still progress the plans for the national children's hospital. We must also ensure that any of the recommendations that have come out of the HIQA report this week can be swiftly implemented. In addition, we must make sure that any recommendations that come from the audit on hip operations can be swiftly implemented.

The Minister for Health has met with the new CEO of CHI. She is working closely with the new CEO and the HSE. She has been very clear that if any further measures need to be taken, including the expansion of any audit or review, or if any changes need to be made in hospitals to make sure that children are safe and protected and that this does not happen to a single other child, that is exactly what she will do. She will be fully supported by the Government in that regard.

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