Reporting by David Raleigh
The parents of an eight year old boy who requires surgery to correct a life-threatening curvature of his spine, said they are considering leaving Ireland “permanently” to get the care their son needs.
Stephen Morrison and Gillian Sherratt said they feared their eight year old son Harvey “will die” unless he undergoes surgery, which they have waited seven years for.
“We can’t continue with the Irish health system, we are considering moving to Canada or Liverpool, we have to get out of this country, we need to find a better health service for our son,” Mr Morrison said.
Ms Sherratt said she and her partner are now at their wits end as Harvey’s curvature threatens his life, twisting his ribcage around his lungs and pushing down on his heart.
Ms Sherratt said: “I can’t see myself beating my head off a brick wall any longer, I don’t want to be arguing with the HSE trying to get Harvey the care that he needs, I can’t keep doing it. It is ridiculous at this stage, we are not asking for much.”
Harvey was born with spina bifida, scoliosis, hydrocephalus, but he has developed further complex heath conditions over the past eight years.
As the curvature of his spine has reached over 80 degrees, it considered to be life-threatening severe scoliosis.
Myself and @Stephen63224725 just want to say a massive thank you to everyone for the support in relation to Harvey and the ongoing orthopaedic crisis us and families like us are facing.
There are so many families like us, children like Harvey suffering on a daily basis because… pic.twitter.com/1Eo8T4HuGM— Gillian Sherratt (@GillSherratt23) February 4, 2024
Last Friday, Mr Morrison provided video footage of his son in respiratory distress and receiving oxygen at Temple Street hospital in order to highlight his case.
https://twitter.com/G_L_Kavanagh/status/1753798878153834575
The video footage of Harvey struggling for breadth which was shared across social media platforms, accompanied by the hashtag #SaveHarveySherratt, triggered the department of health to make contact with Harvey’s family on Sunday.
Mr Morrison confirmed the department had been in touch and that he hoped he and his partner would meet Minister Stephen Donnelly in the next few days.
He said he hoped Minister Donnelly would give them “answers” as to why it has taken so long for Harvey to get his surgery and “solutions” for his surgery.
Mr Morrison said he also hoped minister Donnelly would support the family’s call for “a task force” to be set up to tackle waiting lists at Temple Street which have worsened since Harvey’s surgeon last performed spinal surgery last April.
“Our plan is to move to Canada or Liverpool long-term, because I’m not going to spend years fighting and arguing with health professionals here,” Mr Morrison said.
As Harvey would also require long term post operative care Mr Morrison said he believes moving abroad is perhaps their best option: “It will have to be a permanent thing, it’s not that we are going to take our child out of Ireland get him surgery and then come home, we are going to have to leave Ireland.”
“We have to consider a lot, accommodation and work, there is so much to consider,” he added.
The family were overjoyed when Harvey’s surgery was scheduled last year, but it was then canceled.
Ms Sherratt said: “Harvey was pencilled in for surgery last year but it was cancelled because his surgeon, Connor Green, was on leave.”
Harvey’s condition deteriorated thereafter, and in the past four months he has been rushed four times to Temple Street in respiratory distress.
Harvey has also suffered weight loss which is also understood to be delaying his surgery.
Ms Sherratt said they currently do not know who is looking after their son’s care at Temple Street because they have had little or no communication from the hospital.
“We don’t even know who Harvey’s surgeon is now, one of the questions we asked Temple Street two weeks ago was who was taking over Harvey’s care and we have had silence from the hospital since, so we do not even have the answer to that question.”
Harvey’s surgeon, Connor Green, stopped performing spinal surgeries last April and went on leave last September when Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), the operators of Temple Street, referred him to the Irish Medical Council after concerns were raised regarding the implanting unapproved spring devices in a number of young spina bifida patients.
Investigations are continuing by CHI and the Health and Information Quality Authority (HIQA).
Independent Senator Tom Clonan told the Seanad last Wednesday that 150 families of children who were under the care of Mr Green are suffering in pain while on prolonged waiting lists.
Ms Sherratt described the situation as “a massive systemic failure”.
She claimed there has been “no surgeries done” since Connor Green went on leave last September.
“All the kids with spina bifida are still sat on the (waiting) list, it’s not just Harvey, there are so many children in similar or worse situations, and the longer this goes on, the list just keeps growing.”
“They (CHI) keep saying the new children’s hospital is coming next year but how many kids will be on the waiting list at that point and how bad will the situation be in terms of the children.”
“Scoliosis is a progressive condition, so the longer patients wait the worse it gets and the more people join the waiting lists and there’s no one currently doing the surgeries.”
Calling for the task force, Ms Sherratt said: “The biggest thing we are pushing for at the moment is to get a task force in place so that it helps all the children on the list.”
Mr Morrison said: “These kids should not be left deformed and in a position where they are dying and becoming paralysed.”
“Harvey has a curvature of over 80 degrees, there are kids out there with 120 degree curves so Harvey is literally only one of those kids,” he added.
Children’s Health Ireland were contacted Sunday but did not immediately respond. Last Friday a CHI spokeswoman said Harvey’s “clinical team can discuss options with the family directly”.
In response to this Ms Sherratt wrote in a message on X (formerly Twitter) “Hmm.. That’s news to me.”
The spokeswoman CHI spokeswoman added: “Children’s Health Ireland cannot comment on individual cases when to do so might reveal information in relation to identifiable individuals, breaching the ethical requirement on us to observe our duty of confidentiality. When a patient or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve Children’s Health Ireland of its duty to preserve/uphold client confidentiality at all times.”