The South Eastern Health Board has announced a review of surgical services in its region after complaints that it is failing to provide male circumcisions on religious and cultural grounds.
The complaints, made to it by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) in April this year, came to light after the death of a 29-day-old boy in Waterford on Monday morning. A man, understood to have had no medical qualifications, attempted to circumcise the child at his home on Sunday afternoon. Little Callis Osaghae, who was born to Nigerian parents last month, suffered serious blood-loss and died at Waterford Regional Hospital.
The child's death is now the subject of a major Garda investigation. Gardaí are trying to trace the man who travelled to the baby's home in Waterford city on Sunday to carry out the operation.
The ICGP said it told the health board it was concerned about a lack of services for families wanting boys circumcised on religious grounds in the region. It feared that, if the demand was not met, families of African and other traditions would attempt to have their needs met "in a risky environment", as occurred in this case.
The health board, which has been providing circumcisions on medical grounds only, said yesterday that a review of its surgical services would commence next month. It will involve consultant surgeons, paediatricians and anaesthetists.
"This review will include looking at all paediatric surgical service provision, including circumcision services both for clinical and cultural reasons," it said.
Most Muslims require their children to be circumcised by six months of age. The health board says it does not, in any event, have a paediatric surgical service for children under two years of age - except in life-threatening situations. Children under two requiring routine surgery are referred to Dublin.
"The health board currently provides services to nearly 3,000 asylum-seekers and refugees in the south-east, and strives to ensure that services meet their needs," the board added.