Children suffering from spina bifida have been let down by an under-resourced healthcare system for years.

This week’s news that there are now serious concerns over the safety of surgery performed on children with the condition at Temple Street children’s hospital will only deepen the anxiety and frustration of children and their families left waiting for vital corrective surgery.

A UK expert is to review surgeries carried out by one consultant at the hospital after an internal review identified “serious spinal surgical incidents” in the service.

The shocking allegation that unapproved, non-medical objects were implanted into children during surgery must also be investigated.

On today’s In the News podcast, Irish Times Health Editor Paul Cullen tells Bernice Harrison about a major medical controversy that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has called ‘very alarming’.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.