info@sbhi.ie 
+353 (0)1 457 2329 
I know a lot of members have been concerned and affected by the recent postponement of surgeries at Temple Street Hospital. From what I am hearing from parents, it is not only surgeries which have been postponed but that outpatient clinics have not been staffed properly or clinically led, where children can be reviewed pre and post-surgery, and that this issue is only being discovered by parents upon arriving at the hospital for these appointments. Both of these issues are completely unacceptable to SBHI.
I have been in regular contact with senior management at Temple Street Hospital to try to get a clear picture for you on what exactly is going on. I, like you, have heard rumours and speculation which ultimately serves no purpose other than to foster confusion. That is why I have continued to engage with, and perhaps annoy, management at the hospital. I want to update you on the last meeting I had.
Dr Ike Okafor, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine and Clinical Director at Children’s Health Ireland met me in my office at the NRC in Clondalkin last week and I outlined to him my absolute unhappiness and anger at the delays in surgeries being experienced by our younger members and the poor delivery of outpatient care they were receiving.
Dr Okafor outlined that Children’s Health Ireland appointed an independent medical facility to look into recent and not so recent surgeries of children with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus to ensure that all clinical procedures were followed before, during, and after surgeries. The findings and best practice recommendations of this will, I understand, be released shortly and will be discussed firstly, quite rightly, with the families concerned. In the meantime, CHI has developed plans for improvement to orthopaedic management for children with spina bifida. This MDT clinic will be supported by two consultants, one for foot and ankle care and one for spinal care. Families should have or will imminently receive confirmation of this from CHI. I am assured by Dr Okafor that this will show visible improvements to the service for our members going forward. I would ask you to keep me informed of how this new administration of the service is impacting both you and your child. I was adamant when speaking with Dr Okafor that I not only want a safe, workable and efficacious system for treating our younger members now but to ensure that this system is embedded when eventually the new Children’s Hospital opens.
In my meetings with Temple Street, we agreed how vital it is that direct patient and family contact and communications is for members of SBHI. I would recommend that you check the CHI website www.childrenshealthireland.ie/news/scoliosis-updates/ which updates on numbers awaiting surgeries and details relevant contact points.
If you have any queries on this please do not hesitate to call me. I would ask once again for you to keep me or your Family Support Worker updated on how the new method of treatment is progressing so that together we can ensure that all people with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus, both young and old, receive the very optimum of medical care, attention and treatment that they deserve and are utterly entitled to.
Gerry Maguire
087-4487556