Cullinane says families dealing with child scoliosis ‘betrayed’ by Harris

Simon Harris cannot say he did everything he could for the family of a child who died after dealing with delays for scoliosis surgery, Sinn Fein has said.

Sinn Fein health spokesman David Cullinane has criticised the Tanaiste over his time dealing with child spinal surgeries as health minister and subsequent time in Government.

It comes amid renewed focus on the waiting-list crisis following the death of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison, who suffered from scoliosis, on July 29.

Mr Cullinane’s remarks came after Fine Gael minister Paschal Donohoe said his party leader “did all he could” in engaging with health officials over the issue.

Harvey’s parents, Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison, learned last August that Harvey had been removed from Children Health Ireland’s (CHI) scoliosis waiting list without their knowledge.

After they publicly raised their son’s case, Harvey, from Clondalkin, received spinal surgery last December after waiting for years.

By then, his spinal curve had reached the point where it could not be fully corrected.

While he spent years on a waiting list, his spinal curve caused his rib cage to twist around his lungs and heart, severely restricting his breathing.

While health minister in 2017, Mr Harris pledged that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis treatment.

Harvey’s mother and father have called for the Tanaiste’s resignation, further criticising Mr Harris for not personally meeting with them prior to the death of their child.

On Wednesday, Mr Donohoe said: “Minister Harris, as minister and then as taoiseach and Tanaiste, when he became aware of the needs of the particular family in question here, did all he could in terms of engaging with the Department of Health, in terms of engaging with the HSE.”

Asked about those comments, Mr Cullinane told reporters on Thursday: “I don’t believe that Simon Harris can hold his head up and say he did everything he could.

“Because if he did, children would not be waiting longer than four months, he would have met the family and he would have ensured that whatever was necessary was being done to ensure Harvey got quicker access to care, that that was properly and fully communicated back to the family themselves, and that never happened.”

Mr Cullinane said the family felt “abandoned” as Mr Harris had not previously met with them.

He added: “So I believe that the sense of betrayal that they feel is heartfelt on their part and is justified on their part, given everything that I’ve seen over the last number of years.”

Mr Cullinane said other families experiencing long waits for child spinal surgeries felt a “sense of betrayal” from Mr Harris and the Government.

A spokesman for the Tanaiste said he spoke with Ms Sherratt on Wednesday and they agreed to meet “in the near future”.

He has also sought a full multidisciplinary report on the timeline of care provided to Harvey.

In a social media post, Ms Sherratt said she had tentatively agreed to meet Mr Harris but no date had been set.

She said: “We will have a specific list of things we will be demanding to protect the children that are still here and still depending on CHI Ireland for care.

“We won’t accept anything less than what we are asking. Harvey had to compromise on his care for the entirety of his life and we won’t be accepting any compromises now.

“We will continue to call for his resignation until such time that we have secured confirmation that these terms are being met.”