Mother of boy who needs urgent spinal surgery blasts Government for failing son
Little Harvey Sherratt is now in so much pain due to severe scoliosis he struggles to breathe and can no longer sit in his wheelchair
The mother of a boy who needs urgent spinal surgery last night blasted the Government for failing her son. In February, a video of Harvey Sherratt screaming in pain due to severe scoliosis was shared online, tagging Taoiseach Simon Harris.
But to her horror, his mum Gillian this week learned he has been removed from the waiting list. Addressing the Taoiseach directly she fumed: “You say you care but your actions say anything but.”
Little Harvey Sherratt is now in so much pain due to severe scoliosis he struggles to breathe and can no longer sit in his wheelchair. The eight-year-old was scheduled for spinal surgery a year and a half ago, but the procedure was axed after he was taken off the waiting list.
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Connor Green stopped operating in April 2023 and went on voluntary leave in September 2023, after Children’s Health Ireland referred him to the Irish Medical Council with concerns over unapproved spring devices being used in spinal surgeries.
Since then, Harvey’s parents Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrisson, from Clondalkin in Dublin, have campaigned tirelessly for the vital procedure. In February, Gillian shared a heartbreaking video of Harvey in obvious agony, tagging Taoiseach Simon Harris and begging for his help.
But to her horror, she learned this week that instead of being treated her boy has now been taken off the Scoliosis Task Force’s active list. Last night she told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “Things have gone from bad to worse for Harvey.
“While we have been sharing his story, while we have been watching footage of Harvey struggling to breathe, while we have been watching him screaming in pain, CHI Ireland took it upon themselves to remove Harvey from the waiting list.
“Where else in the world would you see a child with a curvature well over 100 degrees actually taken off a surgical list? Spending years sitting on that list is bad enough but to go ahead and actually remove that little glimmer of hope we had is just inexcusable.”
Gillian said she found out “by accident” that her son was no longer on the list and had she not queried it she would be none the wiser.
She told us: “There was a letter that was being sent around to all the parents whose children were on the active list. We didn’t get one, so I emailed asking why we hadn’t got one. They confirmed that Harvey was no longer on the active list.”
Harvey has been removed due to “miscommunication” as the consultant had concerns about his weight and bone density - though Gillian said these issues were addressed with the relevant departments and she was told he was okay for surgery.
She said: “We questioned his status in February, he was on the waiting list, had been on it for two years. I’ve sent four emails asking when Harvey was removed, not one response. They didn’t tell us, I only found out because I asked.
“How many other parents are waiting for that phone call, whose child needs the surgery, unaware that they’re off the list?”
Gillian has tried to contact both Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Simon Harris, who was health minister when the scoliosis task force was set up. “I’ve had no reply,” she said.
“I just want answers as to how did we get to this point? Harvey needs this surgery. He needed it years ago. I don’t know who to trust, we just feel helpless. All the parents feel like they’re banging their heads off a brick wall and this is going on since before Harvey’s lifetime.”
Harvey was born with spina bifida, hydrocephalus and scoliosis and his parents now fear he will die unless he undergoes surgery. His spine is crushing his lungs and pressing against his heart and he has been hospitalised several times with pneumonia.
Curvature of the spine greater than 80 degrees means a child is at risk of death unless they receive urgent surgical intervention. The curvature on Harvey’s little spine was measured at 110 degrees in January, meaning it is literally squeezing the life out of his tiny body.
Earlier this year families with children waiting for spinal surgery were dealt another blow when it emerged E19million given to Children’s Health Ireland for spina bifida and scoliosis care was spent on other services.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly admitted the money was spent “far more broadly” within the health system. The CHI task force was meant to ensure that no child would wait more than four months for a spinal operation by the end of 2022.
Calling in the Seanad for a probe into the “missspent” funds, Senator Tom Clonan revealed 150 families are suffering in pain on prolonged waiting lists.
Gillian sent an email to Taoiseach Simon Harris in February outlining the daily suffering her son and her family had to endure. She wrote: “The task force you hold in such high regard has not made contact with my family...
“You continually tell families like ours that you care, and you have been promising to fix this since 2017. 2017 was the year we were told that Harvey’s ribs were crushing his lungs and controlling his scoliosis was life and death.
“Here we are in 2024 and nothing has changed except we now have a surgeon under investigation, longer wait lists, more children waiting, a still not complete hospital, and funds not being spent as intended and no answers yet as to where the money we fought for went.
“You say you care but your actions have left us feeling anything but. Can you imagine being told your child has a potentially life threatening condition but that it will be years before it would be treated? We need action, not more empty promises.”
Gillian told us she does not know where to turn for help for her son. She said: “There’s always public outrage but nothing seems to get better, they keep making more mistakes.
“With the €14billion they got from Apple they should be able to sort this out overnight. These children are continuing to be failed by CHI, and this government is not only allowing it, it is causing it.”
A Health Service Executive spokesperson said: “The HSE does not comment on individual cases as to do so would breach our ethical duty to maintain the individual’s right to privacy.”
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