A scoliosis advocacy group has called on Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to immediately publish the commissioned report on paediatric orthopaedic services.
The review, carried out by retired orthopaedic consultant Prof Salvaduri Nayagam, was commissioned in 2023 after concerns about high rates of post-operative complications, infections in orthopaedic surgeries and the use of unapproved springs in surgeries.
The first phase of the review, which examined the work of consultant Connor Green, has been completed but has not yet been published. Green, who has been on extended leave since 2023, was contacted for comment through his solicitors.
The report needed to be published immediately so it could quickly be established what went wrong, when it went wrong and to whom, Claire Cahill of the Scoliosis Advocacy Network told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.
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“The Minister for Health needs to be on top of her brief,” she said.
The statutory inquiry that was to be established was at a standstill, she said. A mediator was supposed to be appointed, but work had not yet commenced on terms of reference.
Padraig Rice, chairman of the Oireachtas health committee, said there was no reason why the Minister could not publish the report. The excuse of legal constraints was not valid, he said as the Minister could publish a redacted version.
The families of the children involved were deeply disappointed, he said. “These delays cannot be accepted.”
The report needed to be published so that reform could commence and trust could be rebuilt. Mr Rice said, adding: “This isn’t the way to deal with the situation.”
The “drip feeding” of information to parents was not acceptable nor was the manner in which they learned of the report – through a report in a Sunday newspaper, instead of hearing directly from the Minister, he said.
On Wednesday, the Health Service Executive provided an update on the ongoing report on paediatric orthopaedic services.
The review’s second phase, which will examine the wider systems of governance and capacity in orthopaedic services at Children’s Health Ireland, is expected to be completed at the end of this year, at which point the full report is expected to be published.
