Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. She has outlined an extremely difficult case which has been further compounded by the other tragedy faced by the family and manner in which they have been dealt with from an administrative point of view. Their expectations were raised only to be quashed, an issue that must be dealt with by the HSE.

I am dealing with this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health and have been provided with the following information. Scoliosis in children and young people is predominantly managed at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. It is acknowledged that waiting times for scoliosis services are unsatisfactory. Demand has been increasing, with resulting pressure on capacity. In 2014 the hospital had agreed capacity to carry out 58 full spinal cases per year as part of its annual service level agreement with the HSE, in addition to treating children requiring repeat procedures and rod lengthening. At the end of last month 174 patients were waiting for surgery, while 46 surgeries had been undertaken.

In order to increase capacity, funding was allocated in the HSE service plan for 2015 for the appointment of an orthopaedic surgeon, an anaesthetist and support staff at Crumlin hospital. This will maximise the use of available theatre sessions at the hospital. Recruitment is under way to fill these posts, which is expected to allow for an additional 25 cases to take place in the hospital in 2015. Despite this additional capacity in 2015, the number of surgeries in the hospital will still fall short of what is required to deal with demand.

The HSE, the children's hospital group and Crumlin hospital are working together on an ongoing basis to identify all options to increase capacity further. In the short term this includes utilising capacity in other hospitals, where clinically appropriate. In the medium term additional laminar flow theatre capacity will be developed at Crumlin hospital. Following an appraisal of options to increase theatre capacity, the HSE has recently allocated funding for this development.

While it is not appropriate for me to discuss the details of a particular case, I emphasise, on behalf of the Minister for Health, our determination to address undue waiting times for all those requiring scoliosis services. The Minister is confident that the increased investment I have outlined to the House will deliver significant improvements in scoliosis service capacity.

The case raised by the Senator is particularly difficult and I do not want to give platitudes to the family by saying we sympathise and empathise with them. There is a particular issue concerning the manner in which they were dealt with in terms of the way their expectations had been raised. Perhaps direct intervention by the Minister might lead to further light been shed on the matter for the young man concerned.