Santas saddle up in Cork and Dublin for charity fun cycle

It’s a tale with a flavour of Tiny Tim but brightened by the goodwill of a group of surgeons, with a fun Christmas twist.

Straight Ahead, a charity founded by orthopaedic surgeons who operate pro bono on children who would otherwise remain too long on waiting lists, has organised a fun Santa cycle through the streets of Dublin and Cork tomorrow to fundraise for a paediatric orthopaedic ultrasound scanner for the Cork orthopaedic team.

However, while hundreds of Santas will light up the streets after dusk, bringing with them lashings of good cheer, there is a darker side to the story: combined figures for Crumlin Children’s Hospital and Temple St Children’s Hospital show more than 3,000 children are awaiting outpatient orthopaedic appointments, with 605 waiting more than a year. Between the two hospitals, another 1,038 are awaiting inpatient procedures, of whom 236 are waiting more than 12 months.