Deputy Mary Lou McDonald- speech from 1 Apr 2025

Let's dive into the discussions shaping the nation. and operated on between 2021 and 2023 didn't meet the threshold for this surgery and it recommends that 561 children be recalled and independently assessed so this is very serious we have received literally dozens of emails and phone calls from parents since my colleague Chuck the Pierce Doherty raised this scandal in the Dáil on Thursday last having received letters from Children's Health Ireland to inform them of the orders these parents were provided with an email address in the letter but many tell us they're emailing and getting no response they're also ringing but getting no answer it's heaping stress on top of stress one mother contacted us to say she received two letters because her twin daughters were three when they had surgery in 2023 and she says it took them months to recover to learn to walk again not to mention the agonizing pain each of them were in the sleepless nights crying in pain we want to get to the bottom of how they could put vulnerable children through this a second parent wrote one of my daughters had both hips done and we've received a letter I am sick with nerves at the outcome of this families deserve to know sooner rather than later another mother says that her daughter had the surgery in 2023 days before her third birthday and she wrote I am heartbroken to think I put my little girl through so much pain if there was never any need for it she had to be lifted and carried for over a week after the surgery she was afraid to go to the toilet the night and day after surgery she was in so much pain she shook we know of cases where parents sought a second opinion when their child was scheduled for surgery and incredibly they were told that not alone did their child not need the operation but they didn't in fact have hip dysplasia at all also that parents of children who had operations a decade ago are also receiving letters so there is now a genuine fear that these practices were going on long long before 2021 I'd like to know how many letters have been issued Taoiseach I want to know how many children have been affected parents are angry that Children's Health Ireland will conduct the following follow-up assessments because they've completely lost confidence in that organization and who could blame them Children's Health Ireland is an organization mired in scandal the controversies pile up and government sits on the sidelines incapable of getting a handle on things So you need to get on top of this Taoiseach can I ask you what action you've taken to uncover the full extent of this scandal how long has it been going on how many letters have been issued how many children are affected and crucially when will parents be told whether or not their child was operated on unnecessarily Thank you Deputy Taoiseach to respond first of all for any young child to go through surgery irrespective of the gravity of the surgery is a very traumatic event for the child it's very traumatic experience for the child and it's equally a very traumatic experience for parents and in that context to have an audit now been established a clinical audit at CHI and Kappa hospitals on the surgical management of children with a condition known as developmental dysplasia of the hip is deeply deeply traumatic it compounds the original trauma and it is extremely worrying for patients and would lead to anger and And if it transpires that operations were carried out that weren't required at all and remember that this is first and foremost a clinical issue insofar as these are clinical decisions to take the step of surgery that's a predetermined should be done to multidisciplinary teams who decide that a child needs surgery for a specific condition So this is an extremely serious situation that the assertion now is that quite a number of operations were carried out unnecessarily notwithstanding the fact that we're talking about clinicians involved in surgeries of this kind So a clinical audit is being conducted by an external international expert on surgery for children with developmental dysplasia of the hip across CHI International Orthopaedic Hospital I think you know the condition It's a problem with the way a baby's hip joint forms and some children with DDH may require surgery So the purpose of the audit is to establish that surgical practice was in line with international standards and practices The audit is close to final stage I think it makes sense that we await for the completion of the audit So we have an informed evidence-based approach to the issue Letters are being issued to the families by CHI and Kappa We'll be writing to them to provide further information in respect of this I expect the details of the audit to be published And fully shared in before publication with the parents My understanding is concerns were initially erased internally Within CHI under a protected disclosure in September of 2023 Relating to different thresholds for surgery being applied in CHI and the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Kappa The Department of Health was notified about this matter on the 9th of May 2024 And the audit process, as I've said, is at an advanced stage With clinicians to provide feedback on the draft report to the expert author By this Friday, the 21st of March Patient safety precautions Sorry, that was last, that was then Patient safety precautions, again, are being put in place And the, again, a multidisciplinary team is looking at the full In a comprehensive way of all of this So this is deeply worrying for the patients I think we do have to wait for the completion of the audit And also the presentation of the findings to the parents And also then to take what action is required But it goes to the very heart of clinical practice And standards that apply Well, I do think it's important to acknowledge the trauma to any child undergoing a surgery But the very idea that a child would be put through that unnecessarily is doubly traumatic And parents are now faced with this scenario of not knowing The audit may only be in draft form But the letters have been issued, Taoiseach They are arriving to families Distress and distress is very real in the here and now And your argument that we simply need to wait and wait Will weigh very, very heavily with those families who want answers now You say that the HSE was made aware of these matters in May of last year Can I ask when the Minister for Health was made aware It seems to me an extraordinary thing that a year later Parents are being told And they are being told again to wait and wait Can you tell us how many letters How many children How long was this scandal in the making Was it as we now suspect Not simply between 2021 and 2023 But does it go back as far as a decade Thank you Deputy Taoiseach I think the First of all No one's been asked to wait and wait There has to be A proper audit done of this And then there has to be a proper look back To cover As many children as possible Who would have had this surgery To have completeness And to do a comprehensive look back On the specific surgery And in my view that's the correct thing to do And yes correspondence Is going out to parents That's important Parents have to be contacted And what I will discuss this obviously Once the audit is done I think there has to be full transparency In respect of not just the audit But in terms of all aspects Of how the case is going to be dealt with From here onwards Or this issue is going to be dealt with But it is very worrying That an audit has been found necessary In the context of standards Of clinical care I don't have precise timelines on that I gave you the date in terms of the department Thank you Look I'm sorry Thank you Thank you Go to議ag Thank you Like, share and subscribe And let us know your thoughts in the comments We'd love to hear from you Thank you.