Harris’s fury at HSE after RTÉ’s waiting-list exposé

Minister’s emails demanded opening of

HEALTH minister Simon Harris was furious over the failure of the HSE to open a second operating theatre at the country’s largest children’s hospital.

Internal emails sent in the aftermath of the RTÉ Investigates programme, Waiting On The List, show he had been trying to prioritise children with scoliosis, the type of case that featured prominently in the documentary.

The programme was screened on February 6 this year.

His efforts were frustrated and in a mail to his most senior civil servants, Mr Harris asked how it seemed to be ‘beyond the Irish health service to open that [second] theatre’.

Only one theatre was open in Crumlin Hospital at the time, with a second left idle due to staffing and recruitment problems.

Mr Harris’s email was sent the day after the broadcast amid a public storm over what the programme had revealed.

He wrote: ‘As you know, since coming to office, I have attached a priority to ensuring that children with scoliosis have their operations. As a result of investment, we made some progress but there is much more to do.

‘It is unacceptable to me that a theatre in Crumlin remains closed owing to a lack of theatre nurses.

‘This is going on for too long and is unacceptable at this stage. It cannot be beyond the health service to open that theatre.’

The email was sent to the Department of Health’s secretary-general Jim Breslin and Tracey Conroy, a senior civil servant. Mr Harris asked for an ‘urgent update’ and demanded that both the HSE and Crumlin Hospital be told: ‘I expect this theatre to be opened.’

He wanted to see plans to further reduce waiting times for scoliosis and demanded an action plan within the week.

Documents released under Freedom of Information also show how the department dealt with the storm of publicity that surrounded the programme’s broadcast.

It was given an advance viewing of the documentary and warned in a memo that revelations about undisclosed waiting lists were likely to come up for discussion.

‘Programme contends total waiting lists not being counted as 80,000 more patients on pre-admission or planned procedure lists not included,’ said an internal memo.

‘Minister dealt with this in interview but it is likely source of further comment. Otherwise, it is

very moving, upsetting personal stories of people waiting and their families.’

Concerns were raised in emails about efforts to cut waiting lists by getting people treated using the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).

The Government had promised that patients would be treated using the fund as early as January of this year.

However, an email sent on February 6 – just after the programme – by Angela Fitzgerald, the deputy national director at the HSE, said these delays had caused further difficulties for the health service in dealing with the crisis.

She wrote: ‘I am very concerned that the NTPF has not been in a position to start its work and will not begin its work until April.

‘This means that a key part of the agreed strategy is not in place. This would have helped us today.’

In a statement, the department said of the delay to restarting the NTPF and changes to their press release, it said: ‘The initiative has now commenced and patients are receiving their appointments.’

On developments at Crumlin Hospital, it said: ‘A new orthopaedic theatre opened in April, ensuring that spinal surgeries are being conducted with the most up-to-date equipment in the most up-to-date environment.

‘The recruitment of additional nurses has led to one additional day per week surgery and a more recent recruitment success is expected to increase the theatre capacity in Crumlin by three days a week overall with effect from July.’

‘This is going on for too long and is unacceptable’