Mr Donnelly asks HSE to audit how €19m in Irish Children’s Health surgery funds were spent – Irish Times

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has asked the HSE to send an internal audit team to Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) to investigate how €19 million allocated for orthopedics and spine surgery was spent. .

Mr Donnelly told the Dáil on Tuesday that the money had been allocated to reduce waiting lists for children’s surgeries from more than four months to zero in 2022.

But the minister said: “As you all know, that is not happening.”

“I listened carefully to the concerns that patients and families raised with me and consulted with clinicians about the allocation of that €19 million,” Mr Donnelly said.

“We know that some of that money was used to increase the number of surgeries. That’s clearly the case.

“However, concerns have been raised that not all of the funding was allocated to orthopedics and spine surgery, certainly not in the way I had intended, and certainly not in the way the Government would have intended. , I have no doubt that all of us in this House would like to see it.

“On this basis, I have asked the HSE to send an internal audit team to CHI. I’m looking for it.”

Mr Donnelly was speaking while Sinn Féin tabled a motion calling for the establishment of a taskforce to review scoliosis and spina bifida services. This task force is independent from CHI’s management and is “mandated to listen to, engage with, and act on the advice and concerns of parents, patient advocates, and clinicians.” .

The party accuses the government of failing to deliver on promises made to children who need surgery for scoliosis and other orthopedic conditions.

Mr Donnelly said what was happening was “inhumane” and acknowledged the state had neglected “too many” children over the years.

“I want to assure the House that I am not standing up to say everything is fine because there is nothing wrong with it,” he said.

“I’m not going to say I did everything I could, just because I couldn’t.”

The Fianna Fail TD added that there were a number of additional measures he had instructed his department, the HSE and CHI to take, including the establishment of a dedicated management unit for spine surgery.

Mr Donnelly said the department would focus on managing services, increasing volumes, ensuring patient safety and reducing waiting lists and waiting times.

Despite a record number of surgeries over the past two years, “there have also been record numbers of new referrals to the list, which is more important than many of us thought.” he said.

The government’s opposition says 509 spine surgeries will be performed in 2022 and 464 last year, an increase of 34% and 22% respectively compared to 2019.

Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinen said there were children who had been “waiting for years in agony” and the state was not providing the pre- and post-operative care services they needed.

Waterford TD spoke about TJ, an 18-year-old man from Tullamore who spent years on the CHI waiting list.

“He waited so long that his scoliosis made surgery impossible,” Kallinen said.

Sinn Féin TDs said that despite numerous motions and statements from government ministers, “what these families have received so far from the government, in the words of the Children’s Ombudsman, is a record of broken promises. It’s continuous,” he added.

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