Cork children waiting more than four months for first scoliosis appointment

Twenty Cork children have been waiting longer than four months for their first scoliosis appointment, but Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) has said it cannot reveal how many are awaiting actual surgery, due to “patient confidentiality”, despite having released this information previously.

The 20 children suspected of having scoliosis and on the orthopaedic outpatient waiting list at the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital have been waiting longer than four months to be seen.

“For any surgical intervention, these patients are referred to CHI Dublin,” the HSE has said.

When local Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould asked, via a parliamentary question, for the number of Cork-based children on CHI’s list who have been awaiting scoliosis surgery for longer than four months, CHI said that they were “unable to release the information … due to patient confidentiality”.

They added: “The waiting list for scoliosis is a CHI waiting list and includes children from all counties. Patients are treated firstly on the basis of clinical priority and secondly on the basis of length of wait.”

A CHI spokesperson said: 

“I can advise that the scoliosis operational plan is in place and CHI is working on improving access times for all children with scoliosis.”

However, at the end of 2023, Mr Gould asked then-minister for health Stephen Donnelly a similar question, and he said that there were 11 children from Cork awaiting scoliosis surgery at the end of that November. This included five patients waiting less than six months, and six patients waiting over six months.

Queried by The Echo if this 2023 response was a breach of patient confidentiality, a CHI spokesperson said: “This did not constitute a breach of patient confidentiality. The information provided was aggregated data only and did not identify any individual patient or family.”

Mr Gould told The Echo: “It is absolutely shocking that 20 children are waiting for a hospital appointment with suspected scoliosis. Commitments were given and these have never been met.

“At the same time, it would appear a motto of ‘circle the wagons’ has meant CHI no longer provides information to the public on these cases. The minister didn’t pluck these figures from thin air previously. He was given them by CHI to provide them to me. Why is this suddenly not allowed?”