19-06-2025
CHI admits parents not told kids could have fertility issues due to delayed care
Parents with children at risk of fertility issues and cancer due to delayed procedures have not been told of the risks to their children, Children's Health Ireland has admitted.
Lucy Nugent, Chief Executive of Children's Health Ireland (CHI), also told the Oireachtas Health Committee that parents were not told about concerns in the oncology department or that their children with spina bifida were being referred to as 'Crumlin Orphans' and were receiving "sub-optimal care".
The concerns were raised in a 2021 report by CHI, which has been seen by the Irish Mirror but has not been published by CHI due to legal advice.
CHI attended the Oireachtas Health Committee on Thursday to apologise for the litany of scandals engulfing the body, including the unauthorised use of springs in children's spinal surgeries, hip dysplasia surgeries and reports on staff in CHI hospitals.
A 2021 CHI report, seen by the Irish Mirror, highlights several issues relating to the timely treatment of children and culture within CHI.
The report stated that "some patients, who were placed on the inpatient waiting list, were confirmed as having undescended testes, a condition which requires surgical intervention within a specific timeframe".
It continued: "Placing these patients on a specific consultant's inpatient waiting list, when it was known there were alternative options which would have ensured these patients could have been operated on sooner, appears not to be in the best interest of [the] child and the specifics of each case warrant further examination."
In a section on urology general surgery waiting lists, the report stated that there were 10 patients on an inpatient waiting list in 2021 requiring a surgery called orchidopexy for this issue.
It noted that they were "at risk if their wait time extends past their first birthday".
Sinn Féin's David Cullinane told the Health Committee that patients who are waiting "far in excess of the recommended timeframe for that treatment" were placed at "real and known risk for fertility issues or cancer".
When asked if these patients had been identified and their parents contacted, Ms Nugent said open disclosure was "discussed at the time with the clinical experts".
She said: "They did not meet the threshold for open disclosure."
Senator Tom Clonan told CHI that if it were "running Tayto Park, I wouldn't let my children go there".
In response to his questions about how many children were at risk of infertility due to delayed urology procedures, CHI Chief Medical Officer Dr Allan Goldman stated that it was "impossible to say".
Senator Clonan responded: "That is an ongoing, systemic and systematic failure of our children, disabled children, being de facto sterilised for lack of intervention on your watch."
Deputy Cullinane also asked about the concerns raised in the report about oncology services.
He stated that an August 2021 risk assessment scored these services 20 out of 25, or "high risk".
Deputy Cullinane read from the report: "Pediatric oncology patients have a poor experience or are harmed due to the inability of CHI to deliver international best practice standards. Again, it talks about prolonged recoveries."
Ms Nugent said "to the best of her knowledge", these concerns were not relayed to parents.
Similarly, the report raised issues about 'Crumlin Orphans'. These children were not transferred to Temple Street Children's Hospital when the service was moved and the CHI report said they received "sub-optimal care."
Ms Nugent stated that these parents were also not notified of these issues or given another unpublished report on the issue, called the Dixon Report.
Kate Killeen White, HSE Regional Executive Officer, confirmed to the Health Committee that she referred the 2021 CHI report to the Gardaí earlier this month.
She stated that the HSE only became aware of the report on May 25, the same day details of it were published in the Sunday Times.
Ms Killeen White said that both before and after the report was referred to gardaí, CHI expressed their belief that it "did not meet the threshold for criminality".
Fine Gael's Brian Brennan, who declined to get hip dysplasia for his son, warned that the scandals engulfing CHI would become 'one of the biggest medical malpractices in the history of the State".
Fianna Fáil TD Martin Daly, who was a doctor for 40 years before entering politics, said, "There is absolutely zero confidence in CHI, zero confidence in the management."
He continued: "I am speaking as a medical professional who would be inclined to try and tease out the nuances of this? There are no nuances."
As Deputy Daly stated that he did not believe Ms Nugent's opening statement conveyed the gravity of the situation, the CHI Chief said: "It keeps me awake."
