Parents of children who received hip surgeries in two Dublin hospitals are calling for the establishment of a clinical independent review of surgeries by international experts, after an audit found almost 70 per cent of surgeries carried out at the healthcare facilities were not necessary.
On Friday, the Health Service Executive (HSE) published an independent audit on hip surgery thresholds for children with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH).
It examined 147 cases across three hospitals – Temple Street, the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh (NOHC) and Crumlin Hospital. In Temple Street, some 60 per cent of surgeries audited did not meet the clinical threshold for surgical intervention, with this proportion being 79 per cent in NOHC.
Two advocacy groups – the scoliosis advocacy network and Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy Group – held a meeting with more than 70 affected parents on Sunday evening.
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Notes from the meeting show families are unhappy with the HSE’s plan to offer all families the opportunity to have their case reviewed by a specialist medical team, believing this will “only delay meaningful review and support”.
Parents expressed “serious concern” about this proposed clinical review pathway because the clinicians who carried out the unnecessary surgeries were not named in the report. The families said they have “no confidence” in a review process.
Instead, the families have called for an independent clinical review of all DDH surgeries.
“This must be carried out by a panel of international paediatric orthopaedic experts, each with a minimum of 10 years’ experience and qualifications equal to or exceeding those of Irish consultants,” the families said.
“A core group of parents will liaise directly with the relevant authorities to ensure the panel has the full confidence of families. The composition of the panel must be formally agreed with the parent group.”
The two advocacy groups also reiterated their call for a full public inquiry into Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), stating there was a specific need to examine “the systemic governance failures that resulted in preventable harm to their children”.
“This inquiry is not optional. Families will directly negotiate the terms of reference with the Minister for Health and will not accept any process that excludes their leadership, scrutiny and approval,” they said.
Following the publication of Friday’s report, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced she has moved to “strengthen governance and oversight” at CHI and NOHC.
The Minister said this will be done by the appointment of two members of the HSE board to the board of CHI, strengthening the service level agreement between the two bodies and increasing involvement of the Dublin Midlands Region Regional Executive Officer.
Further arrangements are also being considered in relation to this, Ms Carroll MacNeill said.
