The recent publication of an independent medical audit carried out by Mr. Simon Thomas, Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon of Bristol Royal Hospital, into pelvic osteotomies carried out on children between the ages of one and seven with developmental hip dysplasia at Temple Street Hospital (TSH), Crumlin Hospital (CRH) and the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh (NOHC) has raised more questions than it has answered.
Speaking about the scandal, Liam Moloney, a Naas Solicitor who has previously acted for patients in lawsuits concerning defective metal hip devices and who is providing legal advice to some of the affected families said today “It has now been conceded that in many cases these surgeries were carried out unnecessarily. This has increased the urgency of getting a full Statutory Inquiry established to get answers as to why so many children underwent these unnecessary surgeries”.
He continued “such hip surgeries on children over 5 or 6 years of age can be very complicated. There are real questions to be answered as whether their parents properly consented to such procedures at all. There are real concerns about the future impacts of such surgeries. All of this must be immediately addressed and only a full Statutory Inquiry can get answers and to ensure nothing like this ever happens again”.
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