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.