The Department of Health is finalising an initiative allowing dozens of juvenile patients in need of spinal surgeries to receive the necessary medical care abroad in either the UK or the US. This initiative aims to deal with high demand and long waiting times for scoliosis treatment, which have caused significant anxiety for children suffering from the condition and their families.
A partnership has been secured with Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York facilitating this overseas treatment. The Department does acknowledge that this option isn’t applicable to all children awaiting spinal surgeries but does offer a viable solution for many. The State will be responsible for arranging and funding travel and accommodation expenses for those participating.
Stephen Donnelly, the Health Minister, recently toured the US hospital together with David Moore, the chief of the Paediatric Spinal Management Unit in Ireland. Donnelly also visited another hospital, but talks are still in their initial stages.
According to the latest data, the total number of patients on the Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) waiting list for spinal surgery last month stood at 281, which includes patients suffering from spina bifida. Among them, 239 were on the active waiting list, while the remaining 42 were on the suspension list.
The Paediatric Spinal Taskforce has indicated that surgeons from New York will soon be visiting Ireland to meet potential patients keen on pursuing their treatment abroad for speedier procedures.
The taskforce also announced that following a clinic visit by surgeons from Great Ormond Street in Dublin, several patients have been offered the opportunity to seek treatment abroad.
While supporting the international outsourcing solution, Donnelly insisted on the necessity to develop Ireland’s own medical capacity.
Mr. Donnelly has confirmed that he, alongside David Moore and the acting CEO of CHI, has been deeply involved in the unfolding situation. A comprehensive operations plan is set to be presented at the Cabinet meeting in September, which is expected to highlight a dramatic and swift decrease in patient wait times exceeding four months for their treatment.
Indeed, he was given assurances two years prior from CHI that no child would have an excessive four-month wait time for critical spinal surgeries, including ones for scoliosis, by the year’s end. In response, he granted a specific amount of €19 million to be used to decrease such waiting times while also enhancing spinal and orthopaedic facilities.
Yet, protest groups have expressed concerns that this allocated money isn’t being used as intended, leading Mr. Donnelly to call for a thorough audit on the fund’s utilisation. He voiced his anticipation for the final report of this review during a recent Seanad session. Initial conversations, as per Mr. Donnelly, have given a picture that the majority of the funds, originally earmarked for spinal treatments, was more widely distributed across the various functions of Children’s Health Ireland.