UK expert to head-up review of spinal surgeries in Temple Street

The review into high complication rates for children who received spinal surgery in Temple Street is to be overseen by Dr Selvadurai Nayagam. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

The HSE chief executive and the Minister for Health have met with the UK-based expert who will lead an external review of spinal care surgeries at Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

The review into high complication rates for children who received spinal surgery in Temple Street is to be overseen by Dr Selvadurai Nayagam, consultant in orthopaedics and trauma, and head of the limb reconstruction unit at the Royal Liverpool University and Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospitals.

HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, and HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry met with Dr Nayagam yesterday to discuss the parameters of the review.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: 

The Minister for Health met with Mr Selvadurai Nayagam, who has agreed to lead the independent expert review of the paediatric orthopaedic services at Temple Street and across Children’s Health Ireland (CHI). It was a very constructive meeting. Mr Nayagam will be meeting with a number of patient advocacy groups over the coming days.

However, the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy Group and the Scoliosis Advocacy Network have said they do not wish to take part in the review unless the terms of reference are significantly widened.

The groups attended a long meeting with Mr Gloster, Mr Donnelly, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and other advocates about the review on Friday.

A separate review into spinal care for children with spina bifida in Crumlin Hospital, a sister hospital of Temple Street, was published last week.

Unlike the issues uncovered at Temple Street, where unauthorised materials were used, the review of Crumlin did not identify any metalwork failures or the need for the removal of metalwork.

The review found that “wound infection was the only significant complication”.

David Moore, consultant orthopaedic surgeon and head of orthopaedics at Crumlin, has moved to reassure parents about the findings of the review.

He said no concerns have been raised about clinical standards at Crumlin and that they carried out an internal audit to have data on complications.

Asked why families were not informed that their child’s care was being reviewed, he said it is not usual practice during an audit. 

He said: “I really don’t see that is appropriate, and of course, if there are problems, the patients have to be informed.”

In relation to the 11 families whose children’s care was reviewed, he suggested telling them the audit was ongoing could create an “unnecessary amount of anxiety and angst in patients who think there is something wrong”.

He said if they had time they could have told parents in an appropriate way, but said: “We weren’t given that time because of the pressure that was put on us by the media to publish the report before we had time to do that.

“I don’t think that anyone who has been in this report has anything to worry about their standard of care.”