Health Department will not reach surgery targets for children with spinal problems

Mr Donnelly says he 'sincerely regrets' that the target will not be met. However Children's Health Ireland (CHI) are confident the target can be met by early 2023. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said he “sincerely regrets” that the health service will not reach the target of having no child with scoliosis or spina bifida waiting over four months for surgery by the end of the year.

New figures from Children's Health Ireland (CHI) show that 149 children with spina bifida or scoliosis have been waiting six months or more for vital surgery, and 117 of these children have been waiting for one year or more.

Campaigners believe these figures in reality are much higher, as they do not include children waiting on suspended lists.

Figures

Figures for September show 153 children were waiting for spinal surgery at Crumlin, 59 children were waiting for the same surgery at Temple St, and two children were waiting for spinal fusion at Cappagh hospital.

91 of these children have been waiting six months or more for their operation, while 58 children were waiting 12 months or more.

Eight children were waiting six months or more for either an orthopaedic or urology procedure at Crumlin hospital to treat spina bifida.

Temple St hospital had 45 children waiting for the same surgery in the same time period, while Cappagh hospital had five spina bifida patients awaiting for an orthopaedic procedure.

Figures for August show there has been little improvement on waiting times for patients.

In February, announcing €19m to improve waiting times for children, Mr Donnelly said by the end of this year, no scoliosis patient should be waiting over 4 months for a procedure.

He said the target was to reduce the total scoliosis waiting list from 224 at the end of January 2022 to 128 by the end of this year.

In September, there were 214 children waiting for surgery to treat scoliosis alone.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, Mr Donnelly said CHI has advised that it is unlikely to meet its target, but it remains committed to doing so in early 2023.

The statement said some of the additional investment in beds, MRI scans, and theatre capacity will not come on stream until the first three months of 2023, having been delayed “due to building and installation challenges.”

CHI under pressure

CHI is also facing “considerable challenges” including staff shortages, the unplanned leave of a spinal surgeon, and the prospect of a challenging winter ahead.”

Sinn Fein’s health spokesman David Cullinane said the Government needs to listen to campaigners who want to protect surgical capacity.

He noted improvement at Cappagh hospital, but queried the slow progress at Temple St and Crumlin hospital.

He said: “We don’t have a breakdown of the funding even though I’ve sought it several times, on exactly what that money was spent on in Crumlin and in Temple St.

Some of the campaigners have a fear that the money was spent for general services and that’s a question that needs to be answered.

CHI has said there has been an increase in referrals or new additions to the waiting list of 30% this year in comparison to last year “which means that the impact of this increased activity is not visible when looking at total patients waiting.”

Long waiting times have reduced with 32% fewer children waiting greater than 12 months, CHI added.