A recent report indicates that there is a problem recruiting children’s general surgeons as a result of increased specialisation within healthcare. This Tuesday, the National Clinical Programme in Surgery in collaboration with the National Clinical Programme for Paediatrics and Neonatology presented a new service model for the persistent provision of paediatric general surgery in Ireland.
The report expressed that several hindrances still exist in rendering general paediatric surgical services, especially urgent ones, in units outside the reach of Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) in Dublin. The report pointed out an absence of funding for paediatric facilities, infrastructure, and services in hospitals where they are in competition with adult services, leading to a shortfall in the build-up of substantial paediatric skills in certain locations.
This situation has resulted in the awkward and unsustainable circumstance of high public expectations and compromised service provision, leading to an increased number of children being referred to CHI for general paediatric surgery. The care model proposes recommendations on achieving service enhancements by establishing both regional and local paediatric surgical facilities.
According to the new model of care, patients and their families will be able to receive suitable elective and urgent surgery close to their homes. Regional paediatric surgeons will decide the location for surgical procedures. This implies that children who need to be transferred to CHI in Dublin will be moved in a timely and safe manner, with senior surgeons both regionally and at CHI coordinating the transfer. Moreover, local hospitals will perform elective surgeries, where medically suitable.
Ken Mealy, the group lead for the general paediatric surgery care model and also dual-head of the national clinical programme in surgery, has affirmed that this represents a notable advancement in assuring all children in Ireland can obtain safe and superior surgical care, irrespective of their location. He further elaborated that this care model places a strong focus on safety, service quality assurance, workforce planning, and training to ensure every child in need of acute or elective general paediatric surgery is treated within a suitable environment by sufficiently skilled staff.
In a similar vein, Dr Ciara Martin, the national clinical adviser and group lead for children and young people at the HSE, emphasised the importance of this model for those who provide care to children and young people. She highlighted that it not only boosts confidence in the care patients and their families receive but also reassures them about the quality of care available whenever and wherever it’s required.