Spinal surgery for children cancelled for at least three weeks at Temple Street hospital

An advocacy group that represents children with scoliosis said it was “concerning” that complex spinal surgeries at Temple Street children’s hospital were cancelled for three weeks.

Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), which delivers healthcare at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin and Temple Street, and paediatric services at Tallaght hospital, announced a “temporary pause” on complex spinal surgery at Temple Street for three weeks from August 26th.

CHI said 32 children with scoliosis were waiting for surgery at Temple Street hospital.

Commenting on the pause in surgeries at Temple Street, CHI said the problem was “due to the cumulative impact of undertaking a greater volume of these complex surgeries in recent months”. It said the volume of cases had “resulted in workload pressures for hospital services in terms of beds and theatre capacity and also for staff working within the service”.

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The nature of the surgery means patients have increased medical needs and a likelihood of longer stays in hospital for children and young adults with complex conditions.

CHI said it had engaged with advocacy groups and would keep networks informed of updates as they occurred. It said “a review of the situation and further decisions” were ongoing.

The Scoliosis Advocacy Network, which campaigns on behalf of children who live with scoliosis, said the decision was a “huge concern” for children awaiting scoliosis surgery. Attempts were made to contact the network on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Health Service Executive said 2022 had seen an increase in emergency attendances with “a significant increase in the number of patients aged 75 and over” attending emergency departments with complex care needs and often requiring admission to hospital for further treatment.

The HSE has said emergency departments across the country, including St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, “continue to be extremely busy with high numbers of patients attending, many of whom present with complex needs requiring admission”. The HSE said this year had seen a particular increase in the number of patients aged 75 and over attending with complex care needs and often requiring admission to hospital for further treatment.

Responding to a specific inquiry about St Vincent’s hospital in Dublin, the HSE said there were “currently no elective surgeries or outpatient appointment cancelled in St Vincent’s University Hospital and none were cancelled during the course of the last week”.