Mum's five-year-old with scoliosis to get MRI after Irish Mirror intervention
Last week, we reported how Carolann Walsh was worried that her daughter Hannah, who has recently been diagnosed with scoliosis, had been told they may have to wait eight months to a year just to get an MRI scan.
Carolann, from Kilkenny - who as a teenager fought her own battle with the health service after her planned spinal fusion surgery was cancelled in 2009 due to ward closures - now says she is 'fighting the exact same fight' - this time for her own daughter, Hannah.
Her daughter Hannah was recently diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition where the spine curves abnormally.
In Hannah's case, Carolann says the pressure on her spine is causing relentless headaches, sometimes escalating into migraines.
However, Hannah was referred to University Hospital Waterford. And after communicating with Children's Health Ireland (CHI), this reporter discovered that Waterford is not a Children's Health Ireland hospital.
We passed this information onto Ms Walsh, who responded, saying: 'CHI have confirmed that Waterford is not one of their hospitals — something I only discovered after a journalist [Irish Mirror's Nicola Donnelly] raised the question and CHI themselves asked whether Hannah was under their care.
'At Waterford Hospital, I had actually been told she was on one of the fastest lists available to her, which caused a lot of confusion,' said Ms Walsh.
'Up until that point, I was operating under the wrong assumption through no fault of my own.
'Once I got that clarification, I went straight back to my GP at Airfield Medical Practice, who then referred Hannah to Crumlin Hospital, which does fall under CHI.
'Today (Tuesday), however, I was contacted directly by a spinal nurse who reassured me that Hannah will be seen, and confirmed there are currently no waiting times for MRIs at their hospital,' said Ms Walsh.
'That has given us some much-needed relief after weeks of uncertainty, and now we can focus on Hannah instead of being caught up in waiting lists,' said Ms Walsh. Carolann says she stands in solidarity with the parents of the late Harvey Morrison Sherratt (pictured) (Image: rip.ie)
'That said, I still stand in solidarity with the parents of the late Harvey Morrison and all the families whose children are waiting for scoliosis surgery. I will continue to speak out on their behalf.
'This is an issue that stretches back as far as 2008 — I lived through it as a child myself and now I see my own daughter facing the same battles .
'It's also important to highlight that Simon Harris promised in 2017 that no child would wait longer than four months for spinal surgery.
'That promise has been broken and here we are 16 years later with nothing having changed.
'It simply should not be happening,' said Ms Walsh.
Earlier last week, Children's Health Ireland confirmed to us that there is 'no waiting list for urgent MRI for scoliosis treatment'.
'CHI cannot comment on individual cases. Every child's care plan is different. An MRI may be postponed to allow for a growth spurt or other clinical factors - these are clinical decisions.
'There is no waiting list for an urgent MRI for scoliosis treatment.'
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