He remains on extended leave. 

Concerns initially included the death of Dollceanna Carter, aged 10, in September 2022 and use of non-medical springs in three surgeries.

For these 62 cases, HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said that, after some surgeries, “the intended outcome was either not achieved or a different outcome occurred”.

Some children had good results, but also faced “continuing clinical issues”, he said. 

For others the review assessment happened too soon after initial surgery to identify problems so another check is needed. 

No immediate safety risks have been identified. 

However the HSE will now run a look-back at this consultant’s work between 2016 and 2023.

This will cover spinal, limb reconstruction and a procedure called surgical dislocation of the hip. It will not include the work of other surgeons, the HSE clarified. 

When were parents told?

Letters were posted to 91 families on Tuesday. 

However, some information was already in the media before these likely landed.

Various advocacy groups including those representing children with spina bifida, scoliosis or hip dysplasia met virtually on Wednesday with CHI and the Department of Health.

Amanda Coughlan Santry, co-founder of the Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy Group, said she received an email at 8.45am asking them to attend at 10.15am.

“Children are being failed here,” she said.

“Information started being drip-fed, our phones were ringing up until after midnight on Tuesday evening. Families had questions and queries, wanting to know what to expect. We can’t tell them what to expect because we don’t know.” 

How long will clinical checks for these 62 children take?

Some children are already in treatment and the others are being followed up.

“I expect this can be completed within a number of weeks, certainly by the middle to the end of March,” Dr Henry said.

Will the full Nayagam review be published?

This is not yet clear. Phase Two will not be complete before December, Dr Henry said.

While the HSE had phase 1 findings since September, he spoke of “protracted legal discussions to get to this point”.

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said on Wednesday she "would like to publish the report” but said for legal reasons she was not told the HSE had received phase one until last week.

Ms Coughlan Santry said she believes there is no guarantee it will be published in full.

What did CHI and NOHC say?

CHI chief executive Lucy Nugent said: “Safe orthopaedic care is delivered in CHI every day, by highly skilled and dedicated professionals whose priority is always the wellbeing of children.”

CHI’s “current 16 consultant orthopaedic surgeons are fully committed to supporting every element of the look-back process and to being open and transparent with families throughout".

NOHC chief executive Angela Lee said most patients are in follow-up already, adding: “We are committed to supporting patients and families in every way we can.”

How will this affect the public inquiry into spinal care at CHI?

Ms Carroll MacNeill insisted the inquiry will not be delayed by waiting on the review. 

During tense exchanges at an Oireachtas committee, she said: “I would hope that the report will become available [to the inquiry team].”