Comment: Children left to wait on life-saving surgery...but at least Leinster House has a fantastic bike shed

Last February, the parents of a young Dublin boy, whose spine is crushing his lungs and pressing against his heart, spoke out to say how he will die unless he undergoes vital urgent surgery.

Harvey Sherratt (8), from Clondalkin was born with spina bifida, hydrocephalus and scoliosis and is a “victim” of long waiting lists at Temple Street Children’s Hospital, his parents, Stephen Morrison and Gillian Sherratt said six months ago.

The curvature on Harvey’s spine is now somewhere beyond 80 degrees, meaning he is at risk of death unless he receives surgical intervention. Only in Ireland are patients' spines allowed reached such acute curvatures before surgical intervention. Other countries don't allow the damage to proceed so far.

“He will die. He absolutely needs the surgery,” Mr Morrison said.

While Harvey has waited for years for surgery, his condition has worsened and is quite literally squeezing the life out of his frail body.

Fast forward to September and not alone has poor Harvey still not had his surgery, it emerged this week that his name was removed from the surgical waiting list without any warning or notification to the family.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin described the incident as “shocking” and added that this “simply should not happen” and said an apology should be issued to Harvey and his family by Children’s Health Ireland.

Inexplicably, Harvey was taken off the CHI active waiting list for surgery, despite three surgeons telling them that Harvey should have surgery to implant growth rods in his spine.

Taking to social media this week, Ms Sherratt said: "Spending years sitting on that list is bad enough but to go ahead and actually remove that little glimmer of hope we had is just inexcusable. They had no plan in place for Harvey, no scheduled follow up appointments, just him kicked off the list without even a courtesy call to let us know. As far as I can tell they gave zero consideration to his wellbeing in making that decision .... these children are continuing to be failed and CHI and this government are not only allowing it, they’re causing it."

So how has it come to this, why are we allowing hundreds of children and their families to suffer through this horrible condition, waiting and watching as their bodies become twisted and contorted forcing intolerable pressure on their internal organs?

Well for starters, Mr Connor Green, who is regarded as the only physician with suitable experience in the most complex orthopaedic conditions, took voluntary leave on 11th September 11th 2023, after Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), which runs Temple Street, referred him to the Irish Medical Council, and launched internal and external reviews of spinal surgical outcomes, after it emerged devices that were not authorised for medical use were implanted in some patients.

While investigations by CHI and the Health and Information Quality Authority continue, Harvey Sherratt and other ill children edge closer to death, as their spines and rib cages continue to squeeze their vital organs.

Professor Damian McCormack, the lead orthopeadic consultant at Temple Street has publicly supported Mr Green returning to work adding that transferring Mr Green’s severely complex patients out of Ireland will not work.

The Government wants to send children to facilities including Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in New York and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, in order to address long waiting lists.

It also appears that money specially ringfenced for these complex surgeries was spent elsewhere.

In July, Stephen Donnelly said that he has asked the HSE to carry out an audit of how €19 million in funding – specifically allocated to Children’s Health Ireland’s scoliosis and spina bifida services in 2022 – had been spent.

You couldn't make this up and for 281 patients (July figures), including those with spina bifida children in Ireland, they don't have the time for you to try.

It's another shameful indictment of our health service where once again we stand idly by and let the children suffer.

Leader article first appeared in last week's paper 21/09/24.