Taoiseach accused of misleading Dail on hip surgery patients
The Taoiseach has been accused of 'misleading the Dáil' about letters sent to parents of children who underwent hip surgery.
Micheál Martin also stated that an audit of potentially unnecessary surgeries on children should be ready 'before the end of next week'.
Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is awaiting a report from Children's Health Ireland (CHI) regarding suggestions that unnecessary hip surgeries were being conducted on children.
The Irish Independent reported earlier this week that parents whose children had undergone hip surgeries as far back as 2010 have started receiving letters from CHI regarding their treatment.
Several letters sent to Development Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) patients and their parents by both CHI and Cappagh Hospital, seen by the Irish Mirror, stated that the 'audit is not yet complete' and they could not comment on what it could contain.
One read: 'An early recommendation from the audit is that all patients who have had DDH surgery should receive routine follow-up care until the children's bones have fully grown and developed, in line with current best practice.
'We are aware that as you are now over the age of 16, skeletal maturity may have been reached.
'An assessment of the needs of over-16-year-olds in this category is in progress and once this has been completed, we will contact you to advise if further follow-up is needed.'
The letters advised that this was 'not urgent'.
On Tuesday, Mr Martin told the Dáil the letters 'went out after media reporting of a draft audit report'.
In response to queries from Social Democrats acting leader Cian O'Callaghan in the Dáil on Wednesday, the Taoiseach stated that he hoped the audit would be completed 'before the end of next week'.
He also stated that what had been sent to parents was 'quite a general letter, from what I have seen'.
He said: 'The generic letter I have seen is essentially saying that it is being written as a follow-up to surgery at Children's Health Ireland to correct developmental dysplasia and that an audit is under way and that also in terms of skeletal maturity.'
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and TD Pearse Doherty accused the Taoiseach of 'misleading the Dáil'.
Mr Martin said he had 'no interest in hiding anything'.
He added: 'It is horrendous if anything wrong was done but we need to find out the full facts. That is what we want to do, in terms of the parents and children involved. That is it.'
Ms McDonald later asked how many letters had been sent to hip dysplasia patients and how many 'recalls' may be required.
She further insisted that the letters had been sent in response to the audit's recommendations and were not 'general letters'.
In a statement, Ms McDonald accused the Taoiseach of 'misleading the Dáil two days in a row'.
She said: 'It is a shocking dereliction of duty that the Taoiseach has not got this information.
'This is a major scandal and parents don't know what is going on. They need to move on this issue now and let the public know immediately – how many letters have been issued to parents?'
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