Councillor ‘not pleased’ with ‘watery’ reply to Cork scoliosis surgery waiting times request

A response from Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), which declines to provide information about waiting times for patients in Cork in need of scoliosis and limb deformity surgery, was described as “watery” during Monday’s meeting of Cork County Council by the county councillor who had made the request.

Bandon-based Fianna Fáil councillor Gillian Coughlan had sought information about surgery waiting times for those suffering with scoliosis and limb deformity in Cork.

However, she was told in a letter from CHI issued to Cork County Council that the information could not be released “due to patient confidentiality”.

“It’s unacceptable, really. I wasn’t looking for names of patients or where they lived. It’s a big county, there are a lot of children waiting,” said Ms Coughlan.

“I think they could have given us some more information. Children grow, that’s the fundamental of life, and the longer they have to wait, the more complex the surgery becomes.

“I thank them for their response and acknowledgement, and I accept that they’re trying to get to grips with it.

“I really want to reiterate that this is not good enough for children to wait for any length of time for scoliosis surgery in this country,” she said.

“While the response is there, I’m really not pleased.”

According to the letter from CHI, the waiting list for scoliosis “includes children from all counties”.

“Patients are treated firstly on the basis of clinical priority and secondly on the length of wait.”

The letter went on to state that the “scoliosis operational plan” was in place.

“CHI is working on improving access times for all children with scoliosis.”

Information regarding the waiting and activity reports is available on the CHI website, the letter pointed out.