Spotlight on CHI far from over after tense committee hearing
For the committee members, it left many questions unanswered, along with a sense of disbelief about the scale and gravity of events that have unfolded for children and parents.
Committee chairperson Padraig Rice, of the Social Democrats, set the scene by saying he struggled to know where to start, noting that they could be there for days at the hearing.
Some believed that all confidence in the CHI Board and management was now gone.
There remain big questions about the ability of CHI to move to the new National Children's Hospital next year against this background.
CHI has a lot of work to do to regain the trust of parents, the public and the political system, and it will likely be back before this committee soon for continuing scrutiny.
Former CHI Chief Executive Eilish Hardiman expressed "heartfelt" sympathy for what actually happened. Committee members pointed out that the main events occurred on her watch.
She is the Strategic Programme Director at CHI, and will have a key role in the move to the new hospital.
The recently appointed Chief Executive Lucy Nugent apologised to families and promised to have CHI regain trust.
Senator Tom Clonan said the events were a scandal of international dimensions, accusing CHI of running a three-ring circus and of having a toxic and broken culture with abhorrent work practices.
Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane said that what was happening at CHI was frightening.
There were questions about why some patients referenced in the unpublished internal review in a range of specialties, may have been affected by a lack of timely intervention, and why CHI has not been in contact with parents to notify them of this potential issue.
Fine Gael TD Brian Brennan said it could all amount to one of the biggest medical malpractices in the history of the State.
No one is quite sure how and when it will all end.
Plus we learned of tension between the HSE and CHI, after claims that the HSE had been notified about the 2022 internal review report around that time.
But the HSE told the committee the first its CEO Bernard Gloster and the HSE Regional Executive Officer learned about it was last month.
CHI also took a different view to referring the report to An Garda Siochana, believing it did not meet the threshold for referral.
The HSE decided to refer it recently.
Another major report on spinal surgeries is due soon.
And just 60 children out of 1,800 who had hip surgeries since 2010 have been reviewed to date under a lookback programme, which is expected to take six months to complete.
There is a long and difficult road ahead for CHI, which has said there are no other live reports which are not in the public domain.
The committee heard that a new CHI Director of Operations started on 9 June and the deputy CEO will start on 7 July.
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