Answers that were requested after the examination

Opposition politicians demanded answers on behalf of families after an examination found that almost 70 percent of the hip operations in two pediatric hospitals were unnecessary over a period of three years.

On Friday, the Health Service Executive (HSE) published the independent testing of hip surgery thresholds for children with development dysplasia of the hip (DDH).

The exam examined 147 cases in three hospitals – Temple Street, the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh (NOHC) and the Crumlin Hospital.

A total of 85 operations in the Temple Street Hospital (TSH) were examined in the exam, 51 of which did not meet the clinical criteria for the operation – ie 60 percent were not required.

In NOHC, 70 operations were checked and 55 did not meet the criteria, which means that 79 percent were not necessary.

Only one of the 63 operations examined in the Crumlin Hospital did not meet the clinical criteria.

David Cullinane, Sinn Féin's health spokesman, said that families were “very concerned” about the results of the report.

He said: “Every parent whose child had hip surgery in these hospitals would like to answer: was the operation of your child unnecessary? The report does not answer. It recommends that a review is offered in every case.

“The government talks about an expert body that is checked, but it is not urgent. The process is now only being set up. The government has known about this scandal since last May.”

Mr. Cullinane spoke about the need for further inquiries.

He added: “Why were these surgeons operated according to lower standards? Why were there such a high number of double -hip operations? There seem to be certain surgeons that were problematic. Their practice and monitoring of their practice still have to be checked much further.”

Marie Sherlock, health spokeswoman for the Labor Party, said the audit paints a “stressful picture of the lack of clinical governance”.

“There are very serious concerns about the declaration of consent,” she said. “There are much more questions here. In the center of them are children and their families.”

Pádraig Rice, health spokesman for the Social Democrats and Chairman of the Oireaachtas Health Committee, said the report recognizes “serious mistakes in relation to the use of a new procedure, both in terms of the lack of consent after informed consent and the lack of clinical follow-up in order to evaluate the effects of this treatment”.

“Many questions also remain unanswered because of the limited scope of this audit,” he said. “Only the threshold for an operation, not the reasons for the operation. While we now have confirmation of what happened between 2021 and 2023, we still don't know why or how this could happen.

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“If it were not a whistleblower, these practices could still take place in our children's hospitals.”

People in front of Profit TD Paul Murphy described the results as a “national scandal”.

“It is not good enough for the HSE to answer the parents, contact a helpline and apply for a review of your child's case,” he said.

“All hip operations carried out in the Temple Street and Cappagh hospitals must be examined, and the parents must be informed about whether their child's operation was unnecessary.”