Five-year-old Hannah, who was recently diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition where the spine curves abnormally, has to wait between eight and 12 months for an MRI scan.
Hannah, from Co. Kilkenny, was referred by her GP to University Hospital Waterford (UHW).
Her mother, Carolann Walsh was devastated by the news, and knows first-hand what her daughter is going through, both mentally and physically, as Carolann (32) was also diagnosed with the same condition 16 years ago.
However, as a teenager, Carolann fought her own battle with the health service after her planned spinal fusion surgery was cancelled due to ward closures. At the time, she couldn’t even get an X-ray.
“It took media attention and a huge public outcry before I finally got my surgery date,” she recalled. “That was September 2009 — and it changed my life. But now, 16 years later, I’m fighting the exact same fight — this time for my own child.”
Carolann who contacted The Munster Express, said she is terrified for her daughter’s future.
“I’ve lived this,” Carolann told this newspaper. “I know what untreated scoliosis can do. I’ve already got one child with generalised epilepsy, another with sensory issues — and now my middle child is facing what I went through. How can it be that nothing has changed after all these years?”
In Hannah’s case, the pressure on her spine is causing relentless headaches, sometimes escalating into migraines.
Carolann is calling for urgent action to address the growing backlog of children waiting for spinal assessments and treatment.
“No child should have to wait in pain,” Carolann said. “No parent should have to beg the system for care. If the health service could find a way in 2009, it can find a way now,” she added.
Carolann believes their story could help highlight the urgent need for timely treatment and raise awareness for families in similar situations.
CREDIBLE LONG-TERM PLAN NEEDED TO END SUFFERING
Back in 2017, when Tánaiste Simon Harris was Minister for Health, he pledged that no child in Ireland would wait more than four months for scoliosis treatment.
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD called on the government to finally put in place a credible long-term plan for reaching the four month-target announced in 2017 by the then Health Minister Simon Harris “and end the neglect of these children”.
Deputy Cullinane was commenting following details around the death of young Harvey Morrison Sherratt, a nine-year-old Dublin boy who died last month and had been subjected to delays in accessing urgent surgery for his scoliosis.
The boy’s parents, Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison discovered last year that Harvey had been removed from a Children’s Health Ireland waiting list for urgent scoliosis surgery without their consent or knowledge. Harvey finally received spinal surgery in late 2024, but the severe progression of his spinal curve meant it couldn’t be fully corrected.
There have been calls for Simon Harris to resign.
Deputy Cullinane called on Simon Harris to meet with Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison to speak with them about the substandard care received by their son, Harvey.
Mr. Harris subsequently spoke to Harvey’s mother, Gillian and agreed to meet in the near future.
38 CHILDREN WAITING LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS FOR APPOINTMENT
Deputy Cullinane said the tragic and avoidable passing of Harvey Morrison Sherratt “must bring an end to the neglect of children with significant medical needs”.
He said despite the commitment made in 2017 by Simon Harris, as of July this year, there are still 38 children waiting longer than six months just for an appointment date.
“There are many more who have been failed and left inoperable, with life-long and life-limiting consequences. Harvey was not the first child to be so extensively failed at Children’s Health Ireland, and unfortunately, we cannot say he will be the last. That is the gravity of the situation,” Deputy Cullinane said.
LIMITED RESOURCES
“Healthcare workers are trying their best to deliver timely care to children with significant needs but are limited by their resources. They are in a very difficult position through no fault of their own. They must be supported with the proper equipment, infrastructure, and workforce to do their job to the best of their ability.
“The government must take this moment to act urgently to end the neglect of children with significant medical needs. The Children’s Hospital is reportedly delayed, again, and there are no credible short-term plans to get children the surgeries they need. As we recently uncovered, the treatment abroad scheme put in place last year did not achieve the progress that was promised. The failure of government policy to date was underlined by the tender issued by Children’s Health Ireland earlier this month seeking new international hospitals for surgeries.
NO SERIOUS PLAN
“The government has been limping year-to-year without a serious plan. The government must urgently resolve this issue. No option should be off the table, whether seeking hospitals abroad for children to travel or bringing surgeons from abroad to conduct surgeries in this State to make full use of all available capacity.
“This issue will not be solved overnight once the new Children’s Hospital opens, whether that is next year or the year after, so a long-term plan is needed just as much now as in 2017. It must address equipment, infrastructure, and workforce needs, as well as the care needs of children including ongoing care, pre- and post-operative care, and rehabilitation.”
REPORT NOT RELEASED
Deputy Cullinane continued: “There are several other related issues which the government has not addressed. The 2017 Dickson Report into paediatric urology, which uncovered a group of these children who were receiving substandard care, dubbed ‘Crumlin Orphans’, has not been released. The very severe issues found in this report were never disclosed, and the leaked review of surgery at Crumlin recently exposed further and continued failures”.
“This report must be released. Very serious reviews of clinical practice remain ongoing and are long overdue. There have been countless governance failures at CHI. At some point, there must be accountability and transparency,” Deputy Cullinane added.
