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WAIT LIST FAILURE
A MUM whose son’s long surgery wait was raised in the Dail has hit out at the Taoiseach’s response to her teenager’s story.
Amanda Coughlan, whose son TJ’s scoliosis surgery was put off for so long his condition became inoperable, told us: “We are hearing the same promises over and over again.
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“My son was failed. These children are not pawns to be used in political games. They are children that need help now.”
The Irish Sun’s Kids Can’t Wait campaign, which demands action to tackle children’s surgery wait lists, was at the centre of Simon Harris’s first Dail debate as Taoiseach.
As part of today’s row, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald raised the heartbreaking case of TJ, from Tullamore, Co Offaly.
She said: “I spoke last night to one mother whose child is now no longer a child. They are now 19 and inoperable. Why are they inoperable?
Read more on Waiting Lists
“They are inoperable because they waited and waited and waited. The mother said directly that they followed all the right protocols and all the care paths — and for what?
“Words and rhetoric are of no value to them.”
Ms McDonald also raised concerns about the 4,000 kids who are waiting to receive the first assessment about their scoliosis care.
She claimed children with the most complex cases are being left to wait the longest for their procedures.
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And Deputy McDonald demanded a concrete commitment from the Taoiseach that he would deliver on independent second opinions for families and a scheme that would see kids sent abroad for surgeries.
But the Taoiseach hit back, telling his rival: “It is a little dismissive to suggest words and rhetoric, when 120 procedures this year is not rhetoric.
“And massive levels of investment in theatres and hiring more nurses and doctors are not words, they are real actions.”
He also hit out at Sinn Fein for providing €500million less for healthcare in their latest alternative budget than the Government did.
This sparked a shout of “that is blatantly not true”, “nonsense” and “misinformation” from Sinn Fein TDs including David Cullinane, Louise O’Reilly and Pearse Doherty.
Ms Coughlan told The Irish Sun she was furious after watching the Dail debate — in particular with Mr Harris’ response to TJ’s story being raised.
She said: “TJ was in adult services last week with a chest infection. His spine is so contorted that the doctors struggled to see his infection in the scans.
“Is that just words? How is that just rhetoric? To say I’m mad is an understatement.”
I waited four years for life-changing op - now it's too late, says teen
The mum — who runs the Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy Group with Una Keightly — added: “We’ve highlighted again and again that it is the most vulnerable children that are being allowed to languish on waiting lists. Children’s Health Ireland are running those hospitals like businesses and not care centres for vulnerable children.
“Something else that isn’t being highlighted enough is that there are 4,000 children waiting for their first appointments.”
In his first Leader’s Questions clash with Mary Lou, the Taoiseach was grilled about his 2017 broken promise that no child with scoliosis would wait longer than four months for life-changing spinal surgery.
Earlier this week, Mr Harris told The Irish Sun that his 2017 pledge resulted in a significant decrease in waiting lists for spinal surgeries for kids, before the pandemic hit and caused wait times to rise again.
Our Kids Can't Wait Campaign
WAITING lists in Ireland have long been a national disgrace.
More than 106,000 children are on hospital waiting lists for all treatments. However, a new source of shame has emerged as 327 children wait for life changing spinal surgeries.
Their conditions are getting worse while they languish on waiting lists.
Such are the delays, many child patients will be outside the therapeutic window when their treatments are approved.
Earlier this month, the Seanad heard how at least one child has become permanently paralysed since the issue was raised publicly before Christmas.
Their plight has been spearheaded by campaigning Senator Tom Clonan, who himself has a child with a disability.
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has even admitted that the health service is failing these kids.
Children are being allowed to deteriorate due to mismanagement, which has allowed the waiting lists to grow.
The Irish Sun’s Kids Can’t Wait campaign aims to shine a light on how the State is failing sick children and give their families a voice.
It will also force the Government to do something to clear the backlog of operations and give these children a chance of living a normal life.
And the Fine Gael leader doubled down on his promise and said he will work with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to “make sure that no child finds themselves in a scenario where they are waiting in pain and agony.”
Referencing The Irish Sun’s front page, Mary Lou took the Taoiseach to task for making more promises instead of taking action.
She told the Dail: “Yesterday, the Taoiseach restated a promise to children with scoliosis and spina bifida, but these children do not need any more promises. They need the operations.
'Waiting in pain'
“The Taoiseach says that every resource possible will be provided ‘to make sure no child finds themselves waiting in pain and agony’, to quote the Taoiseach.
“These children, however, are waiting in pain and agony today and I heard this promise from the Taoiseach seven long years ago.”
She asked the Taoiseach if he was once again promising that no child would wait longer than four months for scoliosis surgery.
This is at a time when 270 kids are currently waiting for these life-changing ops, with 79 waiting longer than four months.
Mr Harris said progress is being made by Minister Donnelly, with 509 spinal surgeries carried out in 2022, compared to 380 in 2019.
CHILD CHEMO CANCELLED
NEARLY 1,000 chemo sessions for kids were cancelled last year, shocking figures reveal.
The 865 axed appointments for children battling cancer are part of over 43,000 hospital procedures for youngsters that were called off last year.
And this is more than double the 408 chemotherapy sessions that were cancelled in 2022.
The shameful Department of Health stats show that 252,981 planned hospital procedures were scrapped last year — including 43,302 for children.
Cancellations for kids are on the rise, with last year’s figures a 70 per cent increase on 2022, when 25,589 were nixed.
And the problem isn’t getting better, with 10,515 children’s appointments dropped in the first three months of 2024 — including 273 chemo sessions.
Sinn Fein’s David Cullinane, who got the data, said hospital chiefs are forced to cancel procedures due to overcrowding.
He added: “This is a result of the failure of the Government to actually fix the problems.”