Tánaiste agrees to meet parents of boy who died after long wait for scoliosis surgery
Tánaiste Simon Harris will meet the family of Harvey Morrison Sherratt (9), who died in recent weeks following years of suffering due to spina bifida and scoliosis.
He had been subject to delays in accessing urgent scoliosis surgery, during which time he experienced significant pain and a reduced quality of life. He underwent surgery at the end of last year.
He died on July 29th, although no cause of death has been established, his mother said in a post on X last week.
Harvey’s parents, Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison from Clondalkin in Dublin, have been leading a social-media campaign calling for the resignation of Mr Harris following their son’s death.
In 2017, when he was minister for health, Mr Harris pledged that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis surgery by the end of that year. In a post on X, Ms Sherratt called on the Tánaiste to think “as a parent of young children”.
“While you create memories with your children, I think about how memories are all we have left, and any future memories made will always have a void. While you kiss them goodbye for the day, I think about when I kissed Harvey goodbye for the last time,” her post said.
Mr Morrison said his son was “unique”, but said “what isn’t unique is the way he and other children and people with disabilities are being failed. It is up to us to stop it.”
By the time Harvey had his surgery, his spinal curve had reached the point where it could not be fully corrected.
While he spent years on a waiting list, his spinal curve caused his rib cage to twist around his lungs and heart, severely restricting his breathing.
A spokesman for Mr Harris said the Tánaiste had spoken to Ms Sherratt, Harvey’s mother, on Wednesday and they “have agreed to meet in the near future”.
“The Tánaiste has also sought, through the Minister for Health, a full multidisciplinary report on the timeline of care provided to Harvey.”
Opposition politicians joined Harvey’s mother and father in calling for the Fine Gael leader’s resignation, further criticising Mr Harris for so far failing to meet his parents.
Asked if he stood by his party leader on Wednesday, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said Mr Harris has a commitment to supporting families dealing with scoliosis.
“Minister Harris, as minister and then as taoiseach and Tánaiste, when he became aware of the needs of the particular family in question here, did all he could in terms of engaging with the Department of Health, in terms of engaging with the HSE, and I’m very conscious that we have a family who have lost a loved one who are grieving at the moment, and we have to respect that and allow them to make the points that they believe are important.
“But alongside that, Simon and the Government have placed huge focus on how we support young children with scoliosis.
“We always want to do more. We always want to make more progress. But additional resources, additional clinical support and operating theatres have all been made available to focus in on supporting those children.”
He added: “Those who are waiting for care have seen a reduction in how long they’re waiting.
“We’re seeing a reduction in the number of people on the waiting list.
“But we know we need to do more, and we will always continue to prioritise this as a vital health issue.”
Pressed on whether Mr Harris should be accountable for failures to meet the commitment to cut waiting lists to four months, and resign, Mr Donohoe said: “We’re all accountable through the appearances that we make in front of the Dáil, the questions we deal with in relation to matters of health or any aspect of public policy.”
