Paul Murphy raises case of child stuck on surgery waiting list
Paul Murphy raised the case of 11-year-old Ava Cahill, who has spina bifida and has waited more than a year and a half for corrective orthopaedic surgery. He described the paediatric orthopaedic waiting lists as a national scandal and urged the government to provide resources to clear backlogs and increase capacity.
Case details
The 11-year-old from Tala has spina bifida, which causes her feet to turn inwards and makes everyday tasks like putting on shoes and trousers difficult. She has been left without a surgery date and faces the risk that her condition could become inoperable if it continues to deteriorate. Murphy said Ava is one of 649 children waiting for surgery, including 56 children with spina bifida.
Government responsibility and criticism
Murphy insisted the government is ultimately responsible for the delivery of healthcare and criticised an earlier reply that appeared to suggest the problem was not the State's to solve. He questioned why hospitals, even if they have funds, are not able to clear the waiting lists and argued the State must provide the resources necessary to rapidly reduce waiting times and build a top-quality Irish national health service.
Funding and capacity figures cited
The Taoiseach replied that funding had been allocated, saying a figure of 5 million was not the issue. He stated that since 2018 an extra 9 million had been allocated each year to the HSC specifically for orthopaedic services, supporting the recruitment of approximately 60 extra staff in 2018 and 2019. He also cited a 600 million allocation in the previous winter for non-COVID health expenditures and noted a record number of staff were recruited last year, while acknowledging remaining capacity and recruitment challenges.
Urgent priority and consequences
Both speakers emphasised that securing timely operations for Ava and other children must be the immediate priority. Murphy pressed for short-term measures to increase theatre and bed capacity and to recruit staff so children do not wait an inordinate length of time for essential orthopaedic surgery.
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Taoiseach, I want to raise again the heartbreaking case of Ava Cahill, an 11-year-old from Tala. She has spina bifida, which results in her feet being turned inwards, making everyday tasks very difficult. Putting on her shoes on a daily basis is a challenge. She needs help to put on her trousers, and she has been left waiting for over a year and a half for corrective surgery, with her condition worsening on the daily basis. Can you imagine what it is like for her and her family? They do not even have a date for surgery to look forward to. Worse still, if the condition continues to deteriorate, it could end up being inoperable. She is just one of 649 children waiting for surgery, including 56 children with spina bifida. It is a national scandal, Tisha, and your earlier response seemed to suggest that it is not the government's problem. should the hospitals have the funds, why don't they just go and do it? But I would put it to you that that does not make any sense. We need to provide the resources to clear the waiting lists rapidly and to build a top quality Irish national health service. I will raise again the issue of Ava Cahill and the orthopaedic situation. Government is responsible overall for the delivery of healthcare. The point I was making earlier, the funding has been allocated. A figure of 5 million is not an issue. Just to make that very clear. Since 2018, before I came into office, to be fair, an extra 9 million had been allocated each year to the HSC specifically for the funding of orthopaedic services. This additional funding supported the recruitment of approximately 60 extra staff in 2018 and 2019 to enable the expansion of pediatric orthopaedic services. Improving capacity to allow for additional activity is obviously the key enabler to improve waiting times. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. There's a there. Huge funding has been provided to the health service both in 2020 during COVID and 2021. I mean non-COVID health expenditures. There was a 600 million allocation in the winter of last year given very early with a view to making sure that capacity would be increased right along the line. And we have said repeatedly to the health service operators where you can get capacity quickly, be it theatre capacity, be it bed capacity, please go and do so and recruiting staff. I mean, a record number of staff was recruited last year and because of that extra funding, less than they said they could recruit. In other words, we had or that they were hoping to recruit. They had resources to recruit more last year, the health service had, but because of obviously there's a huge demand on key physicians and so on, they were not in a position to recruit as many as they would have liked to, but they still managed to recruit a record number in any one year and likewise in 2020 the same. But that said, look, as far as I'm concerned, anything that can be done to make sure that Eva gets her operation and other children are not waiting in any way and in an ordinate length of time has to be the priority. It's not funding. They need to really get the capacity in place and do whatever it can be done in the shortest possible term to get it done.
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