Rose Conway-Walsh urges international review for Mikey's scoliosis
Rose Conway-Walsh spoke on 4 March 2026 about the case of Mikey Henry Benson from Mayo, a child with severe scoliosis, urging the minister to secure an independent international assessment. She criticised CHI and the HSE for failing to act as Mikey's spinal curve worsened and pressed for urgent access to specialist care abroad.
Case history
Mikey Henry Benson is a wheelchair user with a neurological condition who was diagnosed with severe scoliosis in 2023. The family were told he needed surgery, but his spine and lungs were not monitored for eight months and his curvature has progressed dramatically.
Measured progression of condition
Rose Conway-Walsh set out the deterioration in Mikey's condition, saying his spinal curve moved from 82 degrees to 130 degrees while under the care of CHI and oversight of the HSE. She told the minister that Mikey's lungs are now severely compromised and that he requires a machine to breathe at night.
Family requests and state response
The family repeatedly asked for an independent assessment and to access surgeons and hospitals outside the state with experience in severe, complex scoliosis. Conway-Walsh reported that the HSE indicated it would follow CHI's view rather than commission an independent assessment, and relayed the family's distress at being denied options.
Appeal to the minister for international assessment
Conway-Walsh urged the minister to clear the pathway for an international assessment, stressing she was not asking the minister to make a clinical decision but pleading for an assessment that could save Mikey's life. She recalled first raising the case in September 2024 and pressed for immediate action given the human consequences described.
Questions on accountability and urgency
The speech framed the case as an example of assurances that did not translate into action and raised questions about how such a severe progression occurred in full view of health bodies. Conway-Walsh emphasised the family's ongoing appeals and the urgent need for access to specialist surgical intervention abroad.
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Minister, I want to begin today with a message I received from the parents of Mikey Henry Benson from Mayo this morning, who is scoliosis, who you met and you know. As Mikey's parents, CHI ruined our lives, shattered Mikey's sister's lives and destroyed Mikey's chance at life, and now the HSE have put another nail in it. We asked for an independent assessment from Mikey by the HSE, but Mikey most certainly did not get that. They just said that they were going to go with what CHI said. Why isn't the state helping us to get Mikey to a hospital where surgeons deal with cases like this on a daily basis? Is he not worth the bother? Now Minister, I heard your statement earlier on, and you speak about improved access to international options for assessment, and I would ask you to please clear that pathway for Mikey to have that international assessment. I am not saying to make a clinical decision. I am begging for an assessment to save his life. In September 2024, I first raised the case of Mikey Henry, who was under the care of CHI, to treat his scoliosis. On that occasion, and on many occasions since, I have asked for a full independent assessment of his case after the family were let down time and time again by CHI. Now, the question is, Minister, how was his spinal curve allowed to go from 82 degrees to now 130 degrees without intervention and in full view of CHI and SHE and HSE and indeed health ministers? Families like Mikey's are constantly given assurance that are not translated into action. Let me again once outline once again Mikey's journey and the progression of his condition to illustrate the human consequences of a system that fails to respond with urgency. Mikey is a wheelchair user with neurological condition. In 2023, he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. It was made clear to his parents what could happen to his vital organs if his scoliosis was not treated, yet Mikey was left to deteriorate. He was told he needed surgery. His spine and lungs were not monitored for another eight months. His spinal curvature progressed significantly and, as I said, is now 130 degrees. His lungs are severely compromised and he requires a machine to breathe at night. The need for specialist surgical intervention has long passed. His parents watch their child live with constant discomfort and physical distress. They have repeatedly raised concerns about the speed of the progression of his curve and the impact it's having on his health and well-being. They asked to access surgeons and hospitals outside the state with extensive experience treating severe and complex scoliosis cases. I'm asking you, Minister, please help us to save Mikey's life. This has been going on for far too long. September 2024, I first brought this case to the throne. Deputy Mayor.
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