Staff shortages and lack of space behind long waits at children’s hospitals — HSE audit

Harvey Morrison Sherratt's parents, Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison, during a Justice for Harvey March in Dublin in August 2025. They have frequently raised questions about waiting list management in CHI hospitals. File picture

Children are waiting too long for care at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), mainly due to inaccurate waiting lists, staff shortages, and a lack of space, a new internal HSE audit has found.

The audit highlighted “consistent systemic issues” in how waiting lists are managed, with data frequently incomplete or inconsistent.

The family of Harvey Morrison Sherratt have frequently raised questions about waiting list management in CHI hospitals. Harvey was just nine years old when he died in July 2025, after being taken off a waiting list for vital surgery without their knowledge.

The HSE report published on Monday was commissioned by health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. It focused on waiting list management at Children’s Health Ireland and recommended how this can be improved. 

The report states that it found “no clear evidence of inequity in access to care”.

The review, carried out by the HSE’s chief internal auditor, examined orthopaedics (including spinal), urology, respiratory medicine, and other specialties.

The HSE said it identified consistent systemic issues affecting waiting list governance, transparency, and assurance. 

Across the three health specialities, it found children waiting longer than the recommended timeframes, “driven primarily by capacity and workforce pressures”. 

It raised concerns about “underdeveloped” management of funded work, explaining that this limited the value for money gained. The audit said it remains unclear how private healthcare will work at the national children’s hospital.

The audit also found some improvements, including shorter average waiting times and more children being seen.

Patient and staff survey

A separate review commissioned by the HSE involved speaking to patients, 126 families, and staff about waiting lists at CHI. 

It found people experienced “long waits, poor communication, lack of transparency, and significant emotional and health impacts”.

The review found that across all care areas in October last year, 73% of children on outpatient waiting lists and 67% on inpatient lists with urgent referrals waited longer than the 28-day clinical target.

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HSE chief executive Anne O’Connor said the audit recommendations “are being considered by the HSE nationally". 

CHI chief executive Lucy Nugent said that CHI needs to "continue to improve communication with families and to improve processes and to continue to improve access times". 

It is working on 32 reforms including 20 that are either fully or partially complete, said Ms Nugent.