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THE CARE OF children with orthopaedic conditions in Ireland has been described as “inadequate” and “chaotic” by specialist consultants.
Consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeon Connor Green said that children’s future potential is being “destroyed” physically and psychologically by inadequate access to care.
He carries out scoliosis surgery in Cappagh and Temple Street hospitals, and made a passionate plea to overhaul the system at the Oireachtas Health Committee.
He told the committee that scoliosis represents about 20% of his practice, and the failures in the system also affect children with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, hip deformities and limb deformities.
Connor Green told the committee that these children are in so much pain and so ashamed of their appearance that they miss more school than they attend and spend their childhood on waiting lists.
There are currently 43,844 children on the outpatient waiting list.
“The care of children with scoliosis in this country is inadequate. But the care of children with all other orthopaedic conditions is just as bad,” he said.
“I think that it’s dishonest of us in any way to blame the pandemic on the waiting list in scoliosis and in paediatric orthopaedics.”
“It’s made it more challenging, certainly, but the numbers were there before it started.”
Hard hitting & sobering remarks by paediatric surgeons Damien McCormack & Conor Green on the issue of scoliosis at Health committee. They talked about woefully inadequate service with dire consequences physically & mentally for children. @rtenews @sinnfeinireland @scolionetwork
— David Cullinane T.D. (@davidcullinane) November 11, 2021
Intensive care
Mr Green explained that only six out of the eight intensive care beds in Temple Street Hospital are staffed by nurses.
“The reason for that is they can’t get the skilled nursing staff to do it because these nurses aren’t being remunerated and educated and supported appropriately,” he added.
“We need to resource our ICU staffing better, we need to ring-fence an intensive care bed before elective surgery, and we need to support our intensivists and recruit more of them in order to look after patients afterwards.”
He rejected claims by the HSE, which blamed excessive waiting lists on the pandemic and cyberattack.
“The unacceptably high wait times were there before either of these events and they have made it worse, but they were there beforehand and nothing was in control before the pandemic,” Mr Green added.
“Nothing was in control before the cyberattack.”
“I have said to the people who have issued letters on my waiting list that I do not want that put on the letters because it is dishonest.
“I think one thing people need to be is honest with families. Don’t tell them we’re going to solve this next year.
“It is not going to be solved next year. It is impossible.”
“You will not recruit the number of surgeons, you will not build the infrastructure, you will not put the support in the communities.”
“Let families know not to be hanging on.”
“I fight one day at a time and I try to get to Friday.”
Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) told the committee that its annual target of carrying out 382 spinal treatments was “decimated” last year due to Covid-19.
It said a total of 322 procedures were carried out.
Eilish Hardiman, chief executive of CHI, said: “We did make progress in early 2021 to recover some of this activity but the cyberattack in May 2021 severely impacted services in CHI.”
“We anticipate that this year we will undertake a total of 335 spinal treatments in CHI.”
Orthopaedic consultant Professor Damian McCormack said: “We need staff, we need consultants and nurses. We need sufficient numbers and that needs to be addressed.
“The third issue is we need quality staff. Because one way to ruin a system is to put a bad doctor in – someone who’s not confident or comfortable.
“Every little change now is the butterfly wing. This is creating more chaos, so everything is in flux. Everything is chaotic.”
Mr Green said: “Our kids just keep getting sidelined. Entire generations of children who are now growing up. Remember the kids who are paying all our pensions, they are supporting this state in the future, we continue to neglect them now for small investments, then it’s going to be a problem.”
Prof McCormack said that desperate families are seeking treatment in foreign countries.
“It really upsets me when I hear families doing charitable works to gain money to go abroad to private institutions for treatment, some of it is excellent, some of which is completely bogus,” he added.
“Tragic things going on in that regard and it kills me to see it.”
Ms Hardiman apologised to patients and families who are suffering over the waiting lists for paediatric services.
“We do not underestimate in any way the impact this has on them and our intention is to correct this as soon as we can,” she added.
Additional reporting by Tom Douglas.
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I don’t and I’m Irish. Don’t remember being asked my opinion… (A system that gives suspended sentences to criminals but puts honest folk in prison for standing up for the truth)
A closeted, cliquey, deluded group of overpaid, borderline-honest, chancers. Recent criminal case I have knowledge of had a barrister ‘afraid’ to introduce a line of questioning for fear he’d ‘annoy’ the judge, and also didn’t want to ‘bushwhack’ his opposite no. in prosecution as “he and his wife were at my wedding”!! Funnily enough, the statement of professional fees I believe had no such hesitancy in boasting of their adroitness though!!
Why do people here respect and trust the legal system here?
The legal system is as bent as the political landscape. They are co-joined twins.
Well holy god seanie, you’re certainly changing your tune about the whole political landscape over the last few weeks. Have you had a political awakening?
I suppose when you start to reject one central aspect of your political discourse that everything else that flows from that will be questioned as well.
What f’ing planet was this report carried out on?
Not a day goes by in this country where the general population aren’t appalled by weak sentences handed down to repeat offenders.
When a rapist walks free with a fine and a suspended sentence…how can you trust them
The 20 Ched Evans fans just disagreed with you ;)
Which case are you taking about where someone convicted of rape was fined, given a suspended sentence and walked away? And did you actually attend court for any of this? Or are you just making assumptions based on reading tabloids.
The corruption within is covertly covered up behind closed doors in secret and held to be just by judges that hold to be independent in their duty wrong or right .,. how more corrupt can it be then this …………………………………………………
Like Irish judges???…
Do Irish judges realise they can impose double digit year sentences on violent criminals???
Another deluded ivory tower dweller. Talking complete and utter gibberish about us trusting the judicial system.
All the top judges are politically appointed so they’re just an extension of the government and to take them on in the courts costs an arm and a leg….Justice system has been bought and paid for a long time ago……it’s a big fat NO from me.
Exactly Derek. To be a judge you have to be politically connected. The way they are appointed is ridiculous. Check out the JAAB.
ALL judges are political signed off on. Not just the higher ones. All of them. Same for Superintendents and above in AGS, are all politically signed off on (an argument can be made that politics also affects sgt and inspector ranks as well, but that’s another day).
Old boys club who live under a big rock
I do not trust you.
This is another prime example of somebody with a heightened sense of importance living on a completely different planet than the rest of us.
I wouldn’t consider the judiciary corrupt, out of touch is another matter, though.
Or perhaps just having an opinion that differs from yours- oh no!
The only citizens who have any faith in the irish judiciary are ones that ain’t been in court in over a decade or the deluded ones that still have blind faith in the rest of our joke of a system
Tatler did that report just after they gave Joan her women of the year award.
I don’t trust them.
Any chance of an auld journal poll to see if this “trust” reflects in journal readers?
I don’t. Judges are corrupt dirtbirds.
I’ll start trusting them when they lock up the charlatans in the DAIL.
Having spent 2 years in court over 3 grams of cannabis which cost the state 10,000. No I am not very confidence in that system, although I legislation change would fix that.
So the revolving door prison system, laughable police force, and criminal tourists aren’t of concern? Only in Ireland.
This is a Eu body report.
By EU standards it is upstanding, fair and trustworthy.
Lol more comedy
Say what? I trust no one not even my shadow that’s a sneaky little thing following you around all day. No faith in justice, courts, police, TD’s, not even in the president.
I guess thats a normal comment coming from a non national
Where did these guys get their information, from the Beano?
Low levels of political corruption, competence and fairness in the legal system? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Seriousy deluded finding. I wouldnt be of their opinion what so ever. Mind boggling
How come they’ve sided with the govt on water charges and not looked at the legality of forcing contracts on people. It’s insane really.
Are they f*cking joking?
” Seem to trust” ? What does that mean or imply? Judges seem to be overpaid? Are they? They seem to make inconsistent , and contradictory judgments. . They seem to be independent, but as political appointees are they. ? I wonder what Louise O’ Keeffe thinks about them.?
Another delusional report. There really wacking them out these days.
It’s actually hard to make out what the report says to be honest.
This case of an ex-judge is all you need to know about our ‘judges’ http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Curtin
The judiciary are owned by the government, all appointed by politicians and know their masters. Were the government to lift the embargo on banks calling in judicial debts, there would be many a defrocked judge and SC. So manners and doing masters bidding is a given. No garlic on my patch, white collar to the back bone old boy!
Justice Denham I’m sure that you don’t have the right to speak for the majority of Irish people. Its not fare that just because you are a judge in the courts that you think people are treated fairly. I had a case in the High Court and I could never say that there was any fairness there. If anything it was because of corruption that I lost my case.
Even I have to question those findings.
Really? I don’t agree. They’re all part of the elite 1%. With money, comes greed and power, with power comes back handers.
“It is also noted that the reduction of public salaries due to the financial crisis may have compromised the constitutional safeguarding of judges independent and professional standards”.
I was taking the article seriously until I read the last paragraph. Who was surveyed – the Judges and barristers?
Is it me or is Susan deneham a doppelganger of Tony sopranos mother
Politically appointed judges hardly ever actually jailing criminals, what planet are these muppets on? Judges are a joke in Ireland and not trusted.
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