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TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has said an apology should be issued to the family of a young boy who was removed from Children’s Health Ireland’s urgent scoliosis surgery waiting list without being informed.
Martin described the incident as “shocking” and added that this “simply should not happen”.
He was referring to the case of Harvey Sherratt, who first came to public attention in February after his parents Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison shared a video of their eight-year-old son struggling to breathe due to his condition worsening.
They explained that Harvey was one of hundreds of children waiting years for surgery, despite his spinal curve continuing to twist his ribcage around his heart and lungs.
Harvey’s parents revealed yesterday that he was taken off Children’s Health Ireland’s (CHI) active waiting list for surgery, despite three surgeons telling them that Harvey should have surgery to implant growth rods in his spine.
At the end of August, when Ms Sherratt questioned CHI in an email as to why she had not received any correspondence from the health group in respect of a surgery plan for Harvey, she was informed that Harvey was actually “not on an Active Spinal Surgery waiting list”.
A CHI official told Ms Sherratt in an email dated 30 August that Harvey was no longer on the list “as per the Consultant’s clinical input from his previous appointments”.
In response, Ms Sherratt wrote to CHI that she found it “incredibly concerning that Harvey was removed from the active list without our consent or even us being formed of such” and she asked, “had I not raised the question, when would I have been informed?”
Ms Sherratt yesterday told a reporter: “If I hadn’t emailed CHI, how long would we have gone without knowing that Harvey had been removed from that list.”
Speaking today, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said it’s “shocking that any child would be taken off a list like that, without any communication to the parents”.
“That simply should not happen,” said Martin, “it’s not good enough and the authorities, and the hospital authorities in particular, need to apologise to the family and facilitate surgery.”
He said the “prerequisite is that the child is provided with the means to get the surgery”.
Martin added that he favours a “combination” of providing surgery in Ireland while having “structured agreement with overseas facilities and hospitals to make sure that children get timely interventions” in instances where “existing capacity here isn’t sufficient”.
He said this should particularly be the case “for scoliosis or urgent spinal and orthopaedic surgeries”.
He added: “Twenty years ago as Minister for Health, we sent 100 children to Johns Hopkins Hospital in America to get heart surgery and it worked very well.
“We did that because the theatres in Crumlin (Children’s Hospital) were being refurbished at the time.
“It’s not ideal for some families, but fundamentally, if it’s what is required for the child’s health – and the timing is very important in terms of scoliosis – then I think we should do everything we possibly can to make sure the child gets that surgery.”
-With additional reporting from David Raleigh
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An apology would be fairly redundant if surgery isn’t timely.
@ecrowley ecrowley: “They should apologise.” No, they should reinstate him back on the list and then apologise
@MIchael Costello: they should facilitate the operation now..
@Lina Stein: Exactly…Now..
Fmin any decent world the person that made the decision to withdraw that young man’s name from the register would be traced back and named But because of the entitled hubris that over a hundred years of electing the same ffg wasters They scoff at the consecept of accountability ,
@Robert Halvey: bang on!
@Robert Halvey: You vote for it.
@Robert Halvey: says in the article he was taken off list based on a consultants input…there’ll be nothing done about it
@Sean:Did the article not say only 1 out of the 3 consulting surgeons said he should be taken off list. 2 out of the 3 consulting surgeons said yes to remain on list as a good candidate.
How many surgeries would be covered by the 2 Billion euro overspend on a 600 Million euro National Children’s hospital in Dublin city.
@Padraic O’ Sullivan: Roughly, about 5,000 operations for E1B.
Lessons learned and apologies is all the governments are good for now
@Shaun Gallagher: I would argue that they don’t learn any lessons, ever.
Time and time again the HSE pull a stunt like this and the outcome is that someone like Micheál Martin tells them to offer another mealy-mouthed apology! Well it’s not good enough. These people have been treated appallingly, like so many others waiting on scoliosis surgery. But Simon will promise to fix it again. And guess what, we’ll be back here in 5 years time talking about exactly the same issues.
An apology is little use unless it come with an action plan. The family must be told what steps will be taken to ensure Harvey receives the best possible care. If it means sending him to the US on the government jet with a full medical team so be it. He needs an external expert orthopaedic opinion, care plan & a guarantee that the HSE will pay for the required follow up care & treatment. Nothing else will suffice at this stage & as a tax payer I want to see every child on the scoliosis waiting list looked after. This has gone on far too long & it is shameful what these children & parents have had to endure.
@Tara Maloney: I heard the poor kids Dad on Newstalk earlier. The HSE won’t reply or talk to them. Someone needs to be sacked over this.
Lessons learned too I bet.
The entire HSE should be rebuilt from the ground. Utter disaster.
Apologies don’t straighten spines – I don’t think
It is absolutely shocking, and all our government can do is apologise. The mind boggles.
Why don’t they drag in the HSE and Temple St Hospital Senior Manager and ask them where the €19 million went that was specifically meant for this treatment went. If necessary, make management retire or move different departments.
Ah jaysus now, an apology serves nobody only the person giving it in this case. Who did this, find out who is culpable, and reprimand them, educate them, and that be final warning. Messing with another humans life is and not telling them is inhumane.
Oh, Harris, you should be so ashamed
@N D K: careful now, or the Fianna gael bots will descend on you like locusts to tell you how good the country is!
I bet it wouldn’t happen to one of his or his cronies kids ! They seem to be the greatest government ever for giving apologies,it seems to be all they are good at ! But actions speak far louder than words MM
@Jb Walshe: Spot on, they as a Govt have no interest in the Irish people, they have abandoned us, too busy trying to feature on the world stage.
If only he was in a position to do something about it….ffs maybe he should issue the apology
More words that.mean nothing Simple, ban children waiting lists completely for any serious illness. Arrange treatment, either in Ireland or abroad, within a month of diagnosis. If not, the family gets a million per month delay. Children did nothing, so they deserve immediate attention.
Apologies, lessons learned, the guy has been at Cabinet level for over 17 years, being Taoiseach & Tanaiste & this is where he has us at, it’s an indictment on Micheal Martin & his Govt that a family have to go public begging for treatment for their son & then get punished for doing so. This is Micheal Martin’s legacy, no integrity at all, shameless. The apology should be thrown back in his face.
Minister for Health should resign. F+@×÷=g disgrace
Who made the decision?
We’ll never get an answer.
Another apology lessons learned unexceptable he is like a parrot what the child needs is surgery preferably a broad with the crap that’s going online the children’s hospital
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