Bacik calls for public inquiry into scoliosis scandal at CHI

Labour leader Ivana Bacik has called for a public inquiry into the failings at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) for children with scoliosis and spinal bifida.

Bacik said that “urgent action” is needed to ensure that the families of children with scoliosis and spina bifida finally receive justice and accountability.

The Dublin Bay South TD raised the case of the late Harvey Morrisson Sherratt, who died in July this year.

The case has brought wider public attention to the scandal after it emerged he was on a years-long waiting list for treatment.

Bacik welcomed that government’s commitment to an inquiry, but said it must be public and statutory.

“Transparency must be at the heart of the inquiry process. Families like Harvey’s have been let down time and again by broken promises. Parents must be centrally involved in developing the terms of reference. They deserve nothing less than truth and accountability,” she said.

“Children with scoliosis and spina bifida are still facing long delays for vital operations. We know that many endure excruciating pain as they languish on waiting lists. In 2017, the Tánaiste promised that no child would wait more than four months for spinal surgery. Infamously, and tragically, that promise has not been kept. A child who was ten when that pledge was made has now aged out of the paediatric system.”

Bacik remarked, “it is only now that the Minister for Health has come around to Labour’s view that CHI must be integrated into the HSE. Families deserve to know what has changed, and why; this is not just about the past. It is about children in the system today, and those who will come after them. The failings of CHI are ongoing, and it is children who are paying the highest price. Parents cannot take any more platitudes or false promises. They need timely care for their children – care that allows them to thrive, not deteriorate.”

She accused Taoiseach Micheál Martin of “side-stepping” her charges that the government are not taking the issue seriously and said that the Taoiseach did not give a firm commitment to a public inquiry into the matter.

“An Taoiseach now has three weeks to do right by these children and their families. Labour is clear: the inquiry must give families a real role in shaping its terms. Only then can we begin to restore trust and to ensure that no child is ever failed like this again,” she said.