Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We need to be frank. Public confidence in the board at Children's Health Ireland is shattered and is in pieces. It is beyond repair. These unnecessary hip surgeries are a national scandal, a scandal of which we still do not know the depth. Thousands of hip surgeries have taken place over the past decade. There are possibly hundreds of cases of children who underwent highly traumatic surgeries that were unnecessary. Thousands of children and parents are left in the dark wondering whether their surgery was necessary. This scandal could date back over a decade under the watch of various Ministers for Health. It is especially damning that concerns were hidden from parents. Parents were only made aware of the audit into the hip surgeries because of the investigation work of The Ditch. Had The Ditch not reported on this audit, how much longer would the Minister and the board of CHI left families in the dark?

This raises deeply concerning questions on culture and governance within the board and the executive of CHI. We need to begin the process of rebuilding public trust and credibility in CHI. It is clear that a reset is urgently needed. Sinn Féin does not have the confidence in the board or the executive of CHI. Clearly, the board should stand down or should be stood down. With a new board in place, it should go to work putting together a new executive management and clinical leadership team that would lead an overhaul of major culture and governance issues within CHI.

Hundreds of children across the State have been failed in the most serious and distressing of ways by Children's Health Ireland. There must be an extensive investigation and those responsible for failures must be held to account, simple as. We must uncover the full extent of unnecessary surgeries, examine where profit motives influenced decisions, and identify failures at every level - clinical, administrative and political. Individuals and institutions responsible for harm must face consequences.

Proactive communication must be at the core of CHI going forward. Every parent whose child underwent orthopaedic surgery at CHI needs clarity. They cannot be left in the dark wondering. As we transition to a new children's hospital, the existing culture cannot be allowed to carry over. We must ensure that the strongest levels of governance, care and communication between CHI and families are fundamental going forward in the new national children's hospital.

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