The chairperson of a panel to examine care of children who had hip dysplasia operations is still not confirmed, despite the HSE saying they would be named last week or early this week.
Parents now fear further delays and have called for greater urgency on the issue.
This person will chair a panel of international experts to examine whether these operations at Children’s Health Ireland hospitals were needed.
Their work will be in addition to CHI offering 1,800 children follow-up appointments, a process which has started.
On Thursday last week HSE CEO Bernard Gloster told the Irish Examiner he expected the chair of this panel to be announced within days.
However, on Friday a HSE spokeswoman could only say an independent international expert has been identified, adding:
The HSE is currently negotiating terms and conditions, and the expert’s name will be published prior to the formal announcement of the panel, which is expected to convene this month.
The review of patients' files is still expected to begin in January, she said.
The spokesperson insisted that the HSE has "engaged meaningfully with patient advocates.”
Parents in the Hip Dysplasia Advocacy Group are to meet the HSE on Saturday. She said they have been “invited to shape the terms of reference for this work”.
A spokeswoman for the parents said many of them still have questions.
“We don’t want any more delays,” she said, adding parents feel they are in limbo.
“We were very concerned that the chair had yet to be announced,” she said. “We were expecting the announcement mid-August as we were told by members of the HSE.”
They contacted the HSE this week asking why the chair's name was not being released and were disappointed at the response.
“Obviously this has caused great concern with the families affected as we fear further delays,” she warned.
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