MINISTER FOR HEALTH Jennifer Carroll MacNeill must “act immediately” to ensure that the families of children who may have received unnecessary hip surgeries are contacted, without delay, according to Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice.

His comments come after investigative platform The Ditch published a leaked draft report into the procedures carried out at a number of hospitals, with auditors taking a sample of surgeries and assessing whether a threshold for surgery was indicated. 

The issue was raised in the Dáil last week by the Cork South-Central TD

“It has come to light, thanks to The Ditch, that an audit has taken place into the hip surgeries on children in three hospitals. This follows serious concerns from a whistleblower that needless surgeries were taking place,” Rice told the Dáil.

The report, published by The Ditch, shows that, in the leaked report, in Cappagh, 79% of the surgeries did not meet the required threshold, in Temple Street, it was 60% and in Crumlin, it was 2%. 

“We need transparency and accountability and we need to ensure the highest medical standards are upheld,” he told the Dáil on 5 March.

Rice then asked Taoiseach Micheál Martin to commit to publishing the report. 

With the draft report now published by The Ditch, Rice told The Journal today that he believes the details included in the leaked draft report, published yesterday, are a “real cause of concern”.

“The Minister must act immediately and ensure that the families of impacted children are contacted without delay,” Rice said, adding that the “drip feed” of information in recent weeks is upsetting the families of impacted children.

(L-R) Pádraig Rice alongside fellow Social Democrat TDs Jennifer Whitmore, Cian O'Callaghan and Gary Gannon. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

In response to Rice in the Dáil last week, Martin said he and the government had not seen the report, at that point, and that he understood that the audit was processing its “final stages”. He claimed that the hospitals are committed to sharing the findings and engaging with families.

“We have not seen the final report yet. It is awaited before any conclusions can be drawn on the matter,” the Taoiseach said.

Rice today said that the latest developments on the issue indicate “appalling failures of governance and care” and that the report must spark change. 

A spokesperson for Children’s Health Ireland said it cannot comment at this time. It is understood that a final report will be published and the organisation will engage with families once it has been received. 

Cappagh Hospital and the Department of Health have been contacted for comment.