By Rosie Jones
On 29 July, Harvey Morrison tragically passed away at the age of nine. Harvey suffered from spina bifida and scoliosis. He was one of many children in Ireland who was left suffering on spinal surgery waiting lists for years while his condition worsened, leaving him in severe pain.
As of July of this year, 231 people are on waiting lists for spinal surgeries, with an average waiting time of around five months. Currently, 38 children have been waiting for more than six months for surgery (a significant reduction from 2017, when this figure stood at 119 children), with a rate of operation increase of 17% since 2017.
Scoliosis
However, this is not an accurate depiction of scoliosis care in Ireland. The CHI approach to scoliosis care has been reactive and prioritises quantity over quality. Many scoliosis treatments are now being outsourced to hospitals abroad. For children with more complicated and intersecting conditions (such as Spina Bifida) this easy fix is not as straightforward. Children with complex conditions require a more specialised approach to their treatment of scoliosis, where additional needs and support are required and are often not provided during treatment abroad.
Spina bifida is a developmental condition where the spine and spinal cord do not form properly during embryo formation. Spina bifida occurs in one in 1,000 children in Ireland, one of the highest rates in the EU. An estimated 50% of spina bifida patients will develop scoliosis, most commonly during their early childhood. Scoliosis is a degenerative condition which requires early intervention and a proactive response, as severe scoliosis can become more difficult to treat, and in more extreme cases can become inoperable. Mild scoliosis would see a spinal curve angle of 10.25 degrees. In cases of severe scoliosis, the spinal curve angle would measure 40+ degrees, and in very severe cases, the angle curve would measure 80+ degrees.
Fatal Delays
By the time Harvey Morrison received scoliosis surgery, his spinal curve was angled at 130 degrees, curving from 75 degrees when he was first placed on the list three years prior. His spine had reached a point where it could not be fully corrected. This had an immense impact on his health and life. Due to the severe curvature of his spine, Harvey’s rib cage twisted around his lungs and heart, restricting his breathing and leaving him vulnerable to pneumonia and infections.
As his condition worsened, Harvey was removed from the waiting list by the CHI, and his parents were never informed, causing uproar at the continuous shameful neglect of the CHI.
After years of fighting, Harvey finally received surgery in November 2024, he died seven months later. As of now, no cause of death has been determined. However, the lack of care, support, and intervention by government institutions undoubtedly had an irreparable negative impact on Harvey’s health.
There is a common trend of neglect and malpractice in the CHI. It was at the heart of the spinal spring scandal, where unauthorised springs were used in children’s spinal surgeries, resulting in infections and other complications. The HSE, CHI and the Government have a history of failing to provide safe, specialised, and attentive care for the most vulnerable in society leaving them with irreparable conditions, many of whose lives have been the cost. These institutions have continuously avoided accountability, and admission of wrong doing to protect their own interests, at the expense of the lives of countless patients, including Harvey Morrison.
Healthcare overhaul
Harvey’s parents and other disability rights campaigners organised the “Justice for Harvey” march on the 24 August to mourn the loss of Harvey and fight like hell for all the other children who have been left behind by successive capitalist governments. Hundreds of people joined this extremely important march to demand that CHI be dismantled and that a full independent investigation to answer for the years of state neglect of the most vulnerable in society takes place.
All the political actors responsible, including the Minister for Health at the start of the scandal Simon Harris, must take full accountability and be made to resign from their current positions. Harvey’s family deserve reparations for the unforgivable neglect of their son and brother.
The healthcare system must be overhauled – made fully public, properly resourced, and free at the point of use, with complete separation of the Catholic Church. That means taxing the rich and big business to fund the services we need, and expropriating Church-owned health facilities. It means ending the two-tier system and bringing private hospitals into public ownership.
No child should ever suffer, let alone die, to protect the reputations of politicians, bureaucrats, or private consultants. We must build a movement to fight the political establishment that serves private interests and has failed generations of working-class people.
