David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have now been here debating Children's Health Ireland, children's healthcare and, in particular, the children's hospitals for five hours. That says it all about the failures we have seen in children's healthcare at those hospitals. The Minister is right when she says that the report into hip dysplasia has not been published. She is waiting for the full report to be published, but a draft report was leaked. It is out there and has been for some time. That draft report raised serious concerns. As bad as it is, it cannot be seen in splendid isolation because, as we know, it comes on top of the HIQA report into the use of unauthorised springs. It comes on top of the Nayagam review, which is still ongoing, and the very high levels of returns to surgery and infections that children had. Those incidences were out of kilter with European averages and there were concerns about the quality of the surgeries and the care given to children. The draft report also comes on the back of years of struggle for children and their parents to get the surgeries they need for their children with scoliosis and spina bifida. It is ironic that we are having a debate about surgeries that were carried out unnecessarily on children when other children are waiting for their scoliosis treatments and their spinal curvatures have, in some cases, got to the point where they are inoperable. It is unbelievable and difficult for parents to try to get their heads around that. One set of children is waiting for surgery, in pain and agony, when other children have been put through unnecessary surgeries and are now in pain, neglected and failed by the State.

There is culpability for clinicians and the people who must be held to account. However, the previous Minister for Health knew last May about what was happening in respect of osteotomies, yet action clearly was not taken. I accept, as the Minister said, that a full report must be published. We know for certain at this point that these issues will go beyond the period from 2021 to 2023. That is the main point we are making with our motion. There will need to be a deeper dive into these procedures because I have no doubt, unfortunately, that this will be a massive scandal. We should not be talking about this today but we must because of what happened.

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