Stephen Moreau

[Dr Amanda (Tivnan) O’Sullivan @tivnana]

Apologies for the long post in advance.

When we entered the scoliosis world of CHI in April 2024, Ms. Anita Little was only 4 months into her role as Business Manager of the Spinal Team. At this time we were fighting with clinicians and senior management for protocol compliance issues into the historical pathway of how our child and our concerns were dismissed with regards to her scoliosis, and also the failures to investigate the issue fully by CHI in accordance with the HSE Serious Incident Management Framework, the Your Service Your Say (YSYS) and Patient Feedback and Support Services (PFSS) complaints pathway.

I have sat down and mapped out the timeline for all the challenges that Ms Little faced during that time (from media published information) and the pivotal points that impacted patient’s care (Image 1). It has raised many concerns which I have highlighted (Image 2) in the hope that it might guide parents, and perhaps Ms. Little, to obtain answers to questions and that some people may be awaiting.

I am aware media articles are often devoid of details and not 100% accurate but it gives a basis, a platform and starting point to ask key questions of CHI Senior Management and those who are meant to oversee their actions.

Firstly, it is fact that every entry in the waiting list module of the Patient Administrative System (PAS) has an audit history or log. I know this because it is similar to the LIMS system that we used in Forensics and that many systems use all over the world including the NHS.

The logged in user, their IP address, the patient’s file they accessed, what actions they took, what the entries were changed from, and to, dates, times etc. This is the metadata on the system. Only certain personnel have authorization to log in and amend, edit or delete certain information. Those with access are registered with the organisations IT and Senior Management., for example: those in the FOI office do not have authorisation to go into the PAS system and update or list anything. An example of what metadata might look like on a referral triage in CHI is included in Image 3.

· Why in August 2024 when Ms Little and her colleague noticed that Harvey was removed from the list (not moved to suspended…but gone) was there no metadata visible to show them who carried out this action?

· Was this metadata also removed?

· Why has this metadata not been provided to Gillian and Stephen under a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) from the Data Protection Office of CHI within the legislative time-frame of 3 months from the point of request, under GDPR Section 12 (a)?

If this metadata isn’t present on a patient's record, this is concerning as it highlights how vulnerable and ‘manipulative’ the PAS system is within CHI………holding a HUGE implication for accurate medical data transfer to the new EPIC system that is scheduled for the fully digitalised National Children’s Hospital. You can’t transfer what is not there….or is not accurate.

With the timeline, the 10 patients that Ms Little was asked to move from active to suspended….these were after someone removed Harvey.

But in February 2025, Ms. Ciara Ni Flathartaigh (Clinical Business Line Manager above Ms. Little) accused Anita and lodged a complaint that she removed 2 patients from the list without authorization.

· Why accuse her of 2? Why not the 10? Or…… were these 2 in addition to the 10?

· Was it Harvey plus 10 from November 2024 plus a further 2 she was asked to remove?

· Were the 10 that were removed, done so in an NTPF complaint manner with parents told according to Section 10.5 of the NTPF OPWL Protocol 2022 ?

·Or was Ms. Little instructed not to contact the parents in this instance also?

These 10 parents would have received a letter in August 2024 saying their child was on an active surgical list…..but then they were removed in November.... were they ever updated? Are they still waiting?

· Why, in an investigation by CHI, was the audit history or metadata information from PAS not accessed by Senior Management to prove or disprove who amended the listings for scoliosis surgery active waiting?

How, within 5 months of the complaint being lodged by Ms. Ciara NiFlathartaigh that she, Stephen Flanagan (Chief Financial Officer and Deputy CEO at the time) along with Ms. Anita Little were all gone from CHI…the first two by choice and the last one wrongly forced. Then, by November 2025 Keelin Hession(Director of Nursing and Manager to Spinal Nurses Dept of Orthopedics) resigned and so…from the November 2024 meeting where 10 patients were removed from the waiting list….none of the attendees worked for CHI anymore.

That is astoundingly "coincidental".

We have personally experienced the failings of CHI and, only this past weekend, I held my daughters hand as she struggled through a nerve conduction study carried out on her (still 19 months post surgery) numb and painful right thigh. I helped her dress, shower, comforted her when her muscles hurt in the hotel after, costing over €600 for a problem CHI insist just needs physiotherapy. She does it every day. She is 13. All since a surgery that could have been avoided. All the while CHI have refused to give us the answers and metadata surrounding Analla’s PAS entries, failed to meet the GDPR legislative timeframe of 16th May 2026 for all her data provision, and the HSE are now lumped with the job 2.5 years later, according to CHI CEO Lucy Nugent (Image 4)

My worries remain.

· Who removed Harvey from the active surgical waiting list? It should be there in the metadata….so why don’t the parents know?

· Who else did this person (Clinician or Senior Manager) remove?

· Why was this not visible to the Business Manager of the Spinal Team and her colleague who managed the waiting list?

· Who made the clinical decision for the 10 to be removed in November 2024?

· What made Stephen Flanagan raise the concern in October 2024? And to who did he raise it?

· Where was the clinical oversight in this decision?

· Were the 10 parents told of the removal in an NTPF compliant manner?

· Why did the formal complaint against Ms. Little only list 2 patients?

· Were these patients part of the 10 or separate?

· Why does an employee have to wait until they are formally dismissed from CHI before they can make a protected disclosure?

· Why couldn’t that be done in August 2024 or even November 2024?

These are not my questions to chase but they affect many families….at least the families of 11 patients.

10 unwell children, and more than 1 who has passed away, who need our voices.

[Care Champions Ireland @CareChampions2]

A new "Hospital Scorecard" study has exposed a massive crisis in our healthcare system. The findings are a terrifying wake-up call for anyone needing medical care.

UHL is officially the worst-performing Model 4 hospital in the country. Despite a massive 42% increase in staffing since 2020, the hospital has completely bottomed out in 11 out of 19 critical performance metrics.

UHL had the highest emergency department traffic in the country (nearly 95,000 attendances). Yet, it has the fewest consultants to handle the load, a staggering 204 admitted patients for every single consultant. Compare that to Dublin's St. James’s Hospital, which has 63.

While UHL sits firmly at the bottom, other major regional hospitals are buckling under the pressure:

St. Vincent’s University Hospital ranked second to last overall.

The Mater and Tallaght University Hospital also scored poorly, landing in the bottom half of the league table.

Our frontline staff are doing what they can, but a spreadsheet ranking doesn't save lives real, practical capacity does. When will the Government and the HSE finally treat this like the emergency it is?

#HospitalCrisis #HSE #Healthcare #Ireland #Hospitals #ScoreCards

[Care Champions Ireland @CareChampions2]

Best of luck to Craig Coady who is meeting Micheál Martin today to plead for the medications his son Paudie needs.

#FriedreichsAtaxia #FundTheMedication #CraigCoady

[The Scoliosis Advocacy Network #BackUs @scolionetwork]

Still not published …

@CarrollJennifer

@MaryLouMcDonald @davidcullinane @TomClonan @PadraigRice @ivanabacik @Toibin1 @paulmurphy_TD @SenatorMcDowell @JMcGuinnessTD

[Gillian Sherratt @GillSherratt23]

This was due back in November @CarrollJennifer where is it now?

[Maria McAlinden @mariamariamca]

Skyclarys- the medicine that Paudie needs- is available in the United States, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and all European Union (EU) member states. But FGFF refuses to supply it to kids in Ireland! 💔@MichealMartinTD @SimonHarrisTD @CarrollJennifer

[Sama Hoole @SamaHoole]

A Yorkshire pudding was originally called a dripping pudding because the batter was placed in a tin underneath the roast as it turned on the spit. Beef fat dripped down. The batter caught it. The result puffed enormous and crisp and was eaten first, with gravy, to take the edge off the appetite before the meat arrived.

That is no longer how anyone makes Yorkshire pudding.

Most modern recipes now reach for sunflower or rapeseed oil, because someone decided the fat that built the dish was dangerous. The pudding comes out flatter, paler, and sadder, and the physics tells you why: dripping smokes hot enough to shock the batter skyward, seed oil does not. We swapped the fat that works for the fat that was advertised at us, and the pudding has been collapsing ever since.

The recipe:

- Plain flour, 140g.
- Eggs, 4 large.
- Whole milk, 200ml.
- A pinch of salt.

Whisk smooth. Rest in the fridge overnight if you can be bothered.

Heat a muffin tin in the oven at 230C with a generous tablespoon of beef dripping in each well. Wait until the dripping is smoking.

Pour in the batter. Do not open the oven for 20 minutes.

They will rise like cathedrals.

Your grandmother knew this without a thermometer or a single word of food science. We have both and produce worse puddings. Use the dripping.

[Katiesfighttokeepwalking @Katiesfight24]

Today I start my Leaving Cert.

Most people see exams.
I see another day I have to fight my own body before I even get to the paper.

This morning started like so many others — pain, painkillers, heat packs, and trying to get myself ready while my hip reminds me that nothing about this is easy.

I have cerebral palsy, a dysplastic hip, a twisted femur, a retroverted pelvis and a labral tear. But today, I’m still showing up.

I might not be starting this day the way other students are. I might be tired before I even begin. I might be sore, scared and overwhelmed.

But I’m here.

And that matters.

To everyone sitting their Leaving Cert today, I hope you know how strong you are too. We all have different battles walking into that exam hall, some visible and some not.

Good luck to everyone starting today.

Love,
Katie ❤️

https://t.co/gZkOc1Q9PE

[Care Champions Ireland @CareChampions2]

Powerful letter by Brigid O’Mahony following a meeting organised by Before We Die.

"I am the mother of a 28-year-old man with intellectual disability"

"We are being left by default caring into our 70s, 80s, and 90s. There is also no plan to have a plan and no political will to look after us"

"I also learned that without any policy in place, the Government’s default position is to let us live our lives, sometimes without respite, looking after our adult children with an intellectual disability until we drop"

"Then when we die, our adult children will be put out to tender to providers who make profit from their care"

I have to say as a 64-year-old carer, now caring for nearly 30 years, the full reality is clear. There is no way out of this, we are on our own. Shame on the politicians, shame on the Government. This is more than neglect, it’s barbaric"

#BeforeWeDie

https://t.co/XxIxEHq1YT

[Care Champions Ireland @CareChampions2]

The principal of one of the largest schools in Co. Wexford has vowed to take to the streets after the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) denied extra support for 54 high-needs pupils, including a blind child and 36 students with autism.

Frank Murphy, principal of St Aidan's primary school in Enniscorthy has voiced frustration on behalf of himself, his staff, parents, and children in the school at the lack of support or willingness to discuss issues by the NCSE

"It is like pulling a piece of skin and holes opening. We are taking from children in order to give to other children who are more in need. They are going without literacy and numeracy support because the teacher is trying to manage other students that need to be regulated. It is not right,” he added.

#SNA #RightToEducation #Disability #Autism #Wexford

https://t.co/Dt5vMCDsrm

[Deirdre Nugent (Minister) @deirdrenugent4]

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
This is the number of patients waiting for beds in #UHL They are left on trolleys today.
No privacy.
No dignity.
No adequate treatment.
This is not healthcare.
This is not good enough.
@CarrollJennifer @MichealMartinTD @HSELive @roinnslainte @SimonHarrisTD

[Care Champions Ireland @CareChampions2]

Please take a minute to sign and share this petition. We all may need care at some point and are entitled to safe quality care, where concerns are welcomed and acted upon..

A recent Journal investigates report highlighted how families who raised concerns over the level of care provided to their loved one, were then threatened with eviction. This leads to an imbalance of power, where the nursing home has control over a persons place within the system. That imbalance of power needs to be corrected and it needs to be done now.

#NursingHome #Disability #Evictions #HumanRightsDoNotGrowOld #Uplift

https://t.co/LnFOxz0fBa

[Care Champions Ireland @CareChampions2]

"You feel completely invisible." Sinéad’s 15-hour trolley ordeal at St. Vincent’s Hospital is a stark reminder that healthcare overcrowding isn't just a statistic, it’s a systemic failure stripping patients of their basic dignity.

#ED #HospOverCrowding #TrolleyCrisis #Dignity #StVincents

https://t.co/dqOwsRQb4e

[Gillian Sherratt @GillSherratt23]

This is appalling @IrishRail

[Mairin Nolan @MairinNolaczy1]

Just under two wks post surgery. Up going again. Off all pain meds starting PT sessions, of course smiling again. CHI wouldn’t even list her for this surgery said she wasn’t able. She may have a complex disability but that doesn’t mean she’s not strong.#scoliosis #spinehealth

[Stephen Moreau @daStevo]

@rte why am I watching coverage of the Eurovision song contest on the news if RTE are boycotting it?

[Stephen Moreau @daStevo]

The Double Cherry Magnum is amazeballs. Not easy to find but worth the hunt.

[Gillian Sherratt @GillSherratt23]

We fought for Harvey at 12 weeks pregnant when we got the diagnosis.
We fought for Harvey at 36 weeks pregnant when they suggested withdrawing medical care at birth.
We fought for Harvey when we found out he had severe scoliosis and had only been linked to an orthopaedic surgeon that deals with feet.
We fought for Harvey when they dismissed my concerns around allergies-later diagnosed as anaphylactic.
We fought for Harvey when they tried to provide a buggy instead of a wheelchair.
We fought for Harvey when he had delays getting a suitable hospital bed for home.
We fought for 5 years to get him a speech device so he could communicate.
We fought for him to get scoliosis surgery.
We fought for answers when we found out he was removed from the surgical list.
Harvey is now gone and we will continue to fight for him, and for the other children and families facing these unnecessary and cruel battles.
We fight because Harvey deserved better and we fight because that is what Harvey always did.
If government or CHI think we will ever be quiet and just accept what has been allowed happen, they simply haven’t been paying attention.
#JusticeForHarvey #NoChildWaiting #StatutoryInquiryNow

@CarrollJennifer @SimonHarrisTD @CHI_Ireland @MichealMartinTD @SBH_PAG @scolionetwork @Stephen63224725

[The Scoliosis Advocacy Network #BackUs @scolionetwork]

March 2025 → March 2026:
•Surgeries: 123 → 109 (-11%)
•Suspended: 40 → 52 (+30%)
•Pre-admit (with dates): 20 → 13 (-35%)
•Total list: 228 → 216 (-5%)

Children aren’t being treated faster.
They’re being moved between categories.
@CarrollJennifer @SimonHarrisTD

[Sama Hoole @SamaHoole]

Every February, 70% of the commercial honey bees in the United States, roughly two million colonies, are loaded onto lorries and driven to California. They are going to pollinate the almonds.

80% of the world's almonds come from one valley in California. Over 1.3 million acres of nothing but almond trees, blooming for three weeks in monoculture, requiring more pollinators than the state can produce on its own. So the bees are trucked in from every corner of the country. Florida. New York. Montana.

The bees are fed sugar water for the journey because their own honey has been removed to lighten the load.
They arrive in the Central Valley to a landscape that is, for three weeks, pink and white blossom, and for the other forty-nine weeks of the year, dead. Nothing to eat. No forage. No diversity. Just almond trees and bare dirt, sprayed regularly with fungicides and insecticides that were deemed bee-safe in adult bees but turn out to be lethal to larvae when combined.

In February 2025, commercial beekeepers reported the worst die-off on record. Around 60% of commercial honey bee colonies in the United States dead in a single pollination season. Financial losses estimated well over $139 million. Some beekeepers lost 90 to 100% of their colonies.

The almonds are marketed as plant-based. Clean. Ethical. The preferred alternative.

The preferred alternative requires the single largest managed pollination event in human history and it is quietly killing the pollinators faster than they can be replaced.

Every glass of almond milk is, statistically, a small contribution to the largest pollinator die-off on record.

This is not in the advertising.