Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)

The entire scandal with regard to CHI has been shambolic from the outset. We have more than 200 children waiting for spinal surgery. There are children waiting for scoliosis surgery who are in pain. Meanwhile, very young children had surgery needlessly. This is the legacy. We have children the State has failed to treat and failed in terms of their treatment. What happened is absolutely shocking. What we have learned from the CHI whistleblower is that there was greater emphasis on protecting the system and protecting CHI than there was in terms of transparency. That is the real shame in this entire saga. Indeed, this was like a hit-and-run. CHI knew it had done immense damage. It knew that it crashed and yet it proceeded without even sounding the alarm. We had to wait for a whistleblower. The action that CHI took, particularly when it drafted the letter and then failed to send it, was utterly deplorable.

This has been a betrayal of children and families. As one mother who called me asked, "Who am I to question the doctor?" That is the attitude. It is a sad reality, but we have learned that maybe we need to ask questions about this. We trust doctors and medical professionals. The saddest thing is that the parents who gave so much trust realise now that they were mistaken.

We have also been made aware through reports and allegations that there are missing X-rays and pre-op files for assessments, which will make the task of investigation particularly difficult. That needs to be investigated. If it is the case that files and X-rays have gone missing on purpose, I hope the full sanctions available to the Minister come down on those professionals.

There must be a broader and more comprehensive review. That is the very least the families deserve.

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