Rose Conway-Walsh demands action on children's scoliosis crisis
Rose Conway-Walsh addressed failures in paediatric spinal care and welcomed the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 while warning implementation must follow. She demanded immediate measures to clear waiting lists after the death of Harvey Morrison-Skerritt and highlighted the deteriorating condition of 17-year-old Mikey Henry.
Implementation test for the Human Rights Strategy
She welcomed the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 but warned that the true measure will be the subsequent action plan and its implementation. She said many previous strategies have remained unimplemented and cited concerns that the government is breaking the law on assessment of needs, as repeatedly pointed out by Ciara Darmody.
Fatality and call for inquiry
She paid tribute to the tragic and avoidable passing of Harvey Morrison-Skerritt and offered condolences to his parents Gillian and Stephen. She expressed full support for the parents' campaign and their pursuit of a full independent statutory inquiry into the circumstances.
Individual cases spotlight system failures
She raised the case of Mikey Henry, aged 17, whose spinal curve worsened from 82 degrees in 2022 to 130 degrees this week, damaging his lungs and leaving him partially dependent on oxygen and a night-time breathing mask. She contrasted this deterioration with a 2017 promise from the then minister for Health that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis surgery.
Waiting list data and treatment abroad
She cited reporting that 135 children are currently on the waiting list for spinal surgery, an increase of 108 since the start of the year, and noted that only seven children have received surgery abroad despite instructions to send children waiting more than four months to the UK or to New York. She warned some children are medically unfit to travel as their conditions have worsened.
Immediate measures demanded and transport needs
Drawing on suggestions from Harvey's mother, she urged two immediate responses - insourcing consultants and surgeons from abroad for urgent surgeries and ring-fencing parts of private hospitals to treat non-complex cases, freeing public hospitals for complex procedures. She also called for suitable transport that can carry oxygen tanks for children who now require them and requested weekly updates to the house until all children on the waiting list have received their surgeries, stressing the need for accountability.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Minister, I welcome the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, but you and I know that the road from here to Mayo is paved with good intentions and unimplemented strategies, many of them that were outlined here. The subsequent action plan and the implementation of that action plan will be the test of whether this will bring about genuine change or whether it's just another collection of words. The fact is that your government is breaking the law as Ciara Darmody continues to point out again and again in relation to the assessment of needs. The tragic and avoidable passing of Harvey Morrison-Skerritt over the summer must bring an end to the neglect of children with significant medical needs within this state. My sincere condolences to his parents Gillian and Stephen and my deepest gratitude to them for the campaign they are leading to save the lives of other children who wait for operations. I fully support their pursuit of a full independent statutory inquiry. Mikey Henry from Mayo is one of these young people who has experienced the consequences of failure of care within Children's Health Ireland. Mikey Henry's story has been raised by myself and by others in this house previously. He is 17 years of age. When his parents first tried to access an operation for Mikey for scoliosis in 2022, the curve on his spine was 82 degrees. This week the curve on his spine is 130 degrees. Mikey's scoliosis has deteriorated to the point that it has damaged his lungs and left him struggling to breathe on his own, requiring oxygen during the day and a mask at night to breathe. Despite promises in 2017 from the Thornstein then Minister for Health Simon Harris that by the end of the year no child would have to wait more than four months for scoliosis surgery. This is evident not in the reality for families up and down this country. In the Irish Independent just this morning Mary Regan reported that the number of children waiting for spinal surgery continues to rise. Right now there are 135 children on the waiting list, an increase of 108 since the start of the year. Only seven children have received surgery abroad since the previous Minister for Health instructed the HSE to send any child waiting more than four months for surgery to the UK or to New York to receive their life-saving treatment. We know some children are not medically fit to travel as their scoliosis has deteriorated. Last week when I spoke to Harvey's mum Gillian I asked her what immediate steps need to be taken to ensure no other lives were lost. She outlined two very practical immediate measures. The first one was insourcing. Why are we not bringing in consultants and surgeons from abroad to carry out these life-saving surgeries and operations as a matter of urgency. The second one was the ring fencing of a small section of private hospitals to carry out surgeries for non-complex patients thereby freeing up public hospitals for the more complex surgeries where multiple of treatments are required. I ask that this house be updated on a weekly basis until all the children on the waiting list have received their life-saving surgeries. If we are not about saving lives here what are we about, Minister? I also want to raise the necessity of Mikey and other children and young adults to be provided with suitable transport. Suitable transport that can carry the oxygen tanks that they now need to meet the needs of the family and of the child with scoliosis that has been failed over and over again in so many ways. What kind of stupid bureaucracy denies these children and these families something as basic as transport? Minister, this has to be sorted out. This is the first day back of this stall. If we cannot save the lives of these children what are we doing? We absolutely have to do this and we have to do everything possible and we have to have accountability. We didn't have accountability for Harvey but we need accountability for the other children who are waiting for her mother. ... ... ... ... ... ...
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
