'Relief' - Good news for child (5) with scoliosis who faced lengthy wait for MRI at UHW
Carolann and her daughter Hannah.
A mother of a child with scoliosis who was expected to wait 8-12 months for an MRI has received good news at last.
Kilkenny mother Carolann Walsh was devasted to learn that her daughter Hannah would have to wait nearly a year for an MRI scan at University Hospital Waterford (UHW).
After 'weeks of uncertainty', the family has learned that Hannah will be seen at CHI (Children's Health Ireland) Crumlin Hospital.
Carolann was diagnosed with the same condition as a child and had to fight to receive adequate medical treatment from the HSE.
On Wednesday, August 20, Carolann was contacted by a spinal nurse at CHI Crumlin who confirmed 'there are currently no waiting times for MRIs at their hospital'.
The news has brought great comfort to the family: "That has given us some much-needed relief after weeks of uncertainty, and now we can focus on Hannah instead of being caught up in waiting lists."
Carolann continued: "That said, I still stand in solidarity with the parents of Harvey Morrison and all the families whose children are waiting for scoliosis surgery. I will continue to speak out on their behalf. This is an issue that stretches back as far as 2008 — I lived through it as a child myself, and now I see my own daughter facing the same battles."
In 2017, Tánaiste Simon Harris promised that no child would have to wait longer than four months for spinal surgery. In July 2025, 9-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt died after waiting years for spinal surgery. Harvey was diagnosed with scoliosis and spina bifida.
Hannah was diagnosed by her GP earlier this year and was referred to UHW for the MRI scan to assess her level of need and treatment. The child suffers daily from headaches and migraines.
Last week, Waterford News and Star reported on the story of Hannah and her wait for a scan. At the time, Carolann said: "I am terrified for her future.
"I’ve lived this. I know what untreated scoliosis can do. I’ve already got one child with generalized epilepsy, another with sensory issues and now my middle child is facing what I went through."
Carolann was previously informed that UHW was covered by CHI. CHI were contacted for comment and responded with the following: "CHI is (a Section 38) an independent body of the HSE, funded by the HSE. There is no delay for urgent MRI in CHI." Section 38 organisations are funded to provide services on behalf of the HSE.
Carolnn stated: "CHI have confirmed that Waterford is not one of their hospitals — something I only discovered after a journalist raised the question and CHI themselves asked whether Hannah was under their care."
She continued: "The wider delays around MRI scans for children under general anaesthetic highlight just how difficult the system has been for families. At Crumlin, urgent cases have historically waited up to 4 years and non-urgent cases up to 7 years.
"As of February 2023, there were 997 children on the MRI under GA waiting list, with an average wait time of 18.3 months. Families like mine have been caught in that backlog, often left feeling stuck in a system that isn’t easy to navigate."
