Over 175 children and adults with scoliosis are on waiting lists for operations to straighten their spine, according to new figures.
The numbers waiting for long periods for urgently needed operations is increasing despite initiatives to provide extra resources and to outsource operations to the UK and the private sector.
Currently, 21 children are waiting over 15 months for the operation, according to the HSE. At the end of last year, there were no children on the waiting list for this long.
The overall waiting list for children has declined only slightly since January – from 165 to 159 – when another 100 children with scoliosis were waiting to see a consultant.
Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, which is the main scoliosis centre in the Republic, has 135 patients on its waiting list, including 31 who have been waiting over 12 months. Temple Street children’s hospital has 24 patients on its waiting list, two of whom are waiting over 12 months.
Scoliosis
Smaller numbers of adults and children are on waiting lists at Galway University Hospital and Tallaght Hospital.
The HSE says Crumlin’s capacity is being built up through the appointment of two additional orthopaedic consultants and other staff, and the opening of a new orthopaedic theatre this month.
In addition, patients are being referred to other hospitals that have capacity; 19 have been operated on in the Blackrock Clinic in the past year and seven more will be treated there this month. A further 10 children have travelled to hospitals in the UK for their operation in the past year.
The HSE says the allocation of almost €1 million in this year’s service plan for orthopaedics and trauma will help address waiting lists and have a positive effect on access for scoliosis patients.
In 2015, 133 scoliosis surgeries were carried out, 51 per cent more than in 2014, according to the HSE. That included 67 in Crumlin with a further 66 outsourced. Scoliosis, defined as a spinal curvature of more than 10 degrees, affects approximately 1 per cent of children and adolescents in Ireland. The treatment and outcomes depend on the type, cause and severity of the curve.
