No timeline in place for when audit into child hip dysplasia surgeries will be completed
TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has confirmed that an audit into children who may have received unnecessary hip surgeries at Children's Health Ireland (CHI) hospitals over a three-year period has not yet been completed.
During Leaders' Questions, he also told the Dáil that there is no timeline in place on when the report will be fully completed and provided Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
It comes after opposition parties called on the Minister to clarify when the audit will be published, amid concerns that thousands of children could be impacted.
The audit is looking at a random, anonymised sample of hip dysplasia surgeries on children aged one to seven at Crumlin, Temple Street and the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh between 2021 and 2023. It's understood that the audit involves 561 children.
There are now concerns that thousands of children may have been impacted, after Carroll MacNeill confirmed that letters had been issued to parents whose children received hip dysplasia operations at CHI hospitals since 2010.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Taoiseach said there is 'a lot of anxiety and concern' about this issue.
'A lot of parents would be worried, because for a child to go through an operation or surgery is very traumatic for a child and very traumatic for the parents. Anything we do in here must be done with that in mind.'
Martin said the audit process is now at 'a very advanced stage'.
'It's understood that the audit author has received final feedback and fact checking from the clinicians to whom the draft report set was circulated. We all know that is standard procedure and respect of audits of this kind.'
Martin continued: 'We don't have a final timeline from the HSE or CHI on when the report will be fully complete and provided to the Minister.'
'Ducking, diving and dodging'
He also said that CHI and Cappagh had issued letters in recent weeks to families and patients who have had hip dysplasia procedures since 2010 to provide reassurance and information about the audit and to ensure all potential cases are included.
'Those letters went out after media reporting of a draft audit report, and it was found necessary after that to communicate to parents as a result of a draft report. The Minister can't comment on that because the Minister hasn't received a report.'
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Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the government has given 'neither information nor reassurance to parents' and accused them of 'ducking, diving and dodging'.
She asked Martin to clarify how many letters have been issued to parents and how many children will be recalled.
Martin said McDonald was being 'somewhat disingenuous here', adding that nobody was 'stonewalling'.
'The obvious thing to do is to wait for the audit report to be published and given to the Minister. That's logical. Otherwise, all you're asking for is drip drip, bits of information here and there, which only adds to the anxiety and concern of parents.'
Martin said that 'the implications are disturbing' and he appreciates that the absence of information 'can compound anxiety for parents'.
'That is why it's important that we get the complete audit and that we are in a position to share it with the parents, with the families, and indeed, with the Oireachtas also and the public at large,' he said.
He said an action plan would then be implemented and published 'to deal with that' and 'to work with parents and with patients.'
When asked by Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice why there was no deadline for the publication of the audit, Martin said he would not 'play politics', adding that the 'deliberate politicisation' of the issue is 'reprehensible'.
Speaking to reporters outside Leinster House this morning, Rice, who is the chair of the Oireachtas Health Committee, had urged the Minister to clarify when the audit would be published.
Rice said parents and the Dáil have been 'left in the dark' over the issue, adding that there is 'a lot of worry'.
'We need to know when the report is going to be published. The Minister needs to come forward and set a date for that, provide some clarity and certainty for parents and families and those affected. That needs to happen straight away,' he said.
Aontú's Peadar Tóibín said thousands of parents across the country 'may potentially be caught up in this particular scandal'.
'Really, the Minister should be sitting down with all the parents who possibly could be caught up in this particular crisis, and ensuring that they know what's happening in the process. That's not happening at the moment,' he said.
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