The father of a girl so profoundly disabled that she can only communicate with her eyes has written to the health minister asking him for a meeting to discuss the growing scoliosis waiting lists.

The father of a girl with medical conditions so complex that she can only express her pain through tears said the Government’s scoliosis action plan is an abject failure.

Lauren Ferris had a rib and a disc removed and three rods inserted, held in place by 19 screws, to correct the curve in her spine that suddenly appeared last year, putting an end her twin loves of dancing and karate.

At one stage, the curve in Seán Bosonnet’s spine was so acute that he would slide off a chair on to the floor when he tried to sit down.

Four hospitals in Britain, Germany and France have been engaged by the HSE to treat children with scoliosis, it has emerged.

A Limerick teen who was left unable to walk for long periods due to her scoliosis is set to compete in a half-marathon.

In a new report, the Children Ombudsman has voiced huge concerns ‘about the serious and ongoing violations of the rights of children waiting for scoliosis treatment’. Two children whose surgeries were delayed reveal the physical and psychological impact of this delay

A child whose ribs had to be cut back to allow surgeons work on a section of her spine and another young girl who had indigestion because spinal curvature caused her windpipe to bend are among the appalling scenarios outlined by children in a report on waiting times for scoliosis treatment.

Surgery, scheduled for next week, has been cancelled for a schoolgirl whose crippling scoliosis condition forced Minister for Health Simon Harris to admit he was ashamed.