Latest HIQA report is yet another deeply distressing turn in the crisis around access to scoliosis surgery for children in Ireland

Comment from Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon:

“This latest HIQA report into the use of the unauthorised springs at Temple Street Children’s Hospital is yet another deeply distressing turn in the crisis around access to scoliosis surgery for children in Ireland. This HIQA report is one of three that was commissioned in relation to this issue and its findings expose long standing concerns that the OCO has expressed in relation to governance, oversight and communication, both within the hospital and directly with parents.

“Ultimately, children in Ireland are being failed, and while CHI scramble to deal with this latest crisis, there are still more than 200 children waiting for surgeries, whose conditions are getting worse. We need to consider the impact this is having on them and how this can be communicated with them in an appropriate way.

“Since 2017 the Ombudsman for Children’s Office has been highlighting the devastating impact these delays are having on children and families. I am utterly exasperated and so upset for the children and families affected here. Until the children have timely access to scoliosis treatment, they are being denied their right to the highest attainable standard of health.

“It is absolutely essential that all steps are taken now to restore confidence in the system for children and families before the transition to the new National Children’s Hospital. The new Hospital, which is so desperately needed for children, cannot inherit a structure that is continuing to let down children.”

• 9 April 2025
• Type: Press Release
• Topic: Health