A march will take place in central Dublin in remembrance of 9-yr-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who died last month following a sudden illness after years spent awaiting spinal surgery, reports Breaking News.
The demonstration, aimed at drawing attention to the extended waiting times for children’s spinal operations, will commence at 2pm on Saturday, August 23rd, beginning at the Garden of Remembrance and ending at Custom House Quay.
Harvey’s parents, Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison, are expected to attend the protest, reports Breaking News.
“We would appreciate if you all could join us as we march in protest for #JusticeForHarvey,” Ms Sherratt posted on X, reports Breaking News.
In an interview with this reporter, Gillian Sherratt said that she and her husband “will not stop” advocating for proper medical treatment for children, especially those with urgent needs.
“We’re not going to go away,” said Ms Sherratt, reports Breaking News.
When asked how she would like Harvey to be remembered, Ms Sherratt replied: “It literally should be, for these children to get the care that they are entitled to, and that they bloody deserve.”
To support the costs of the “Justice For Harvey” march, disability rights advocate Bernard Mulvany launched a GoFundMe campaign, reports Breaking News.
“Any outstanding funds \[will be] given over to Harvey’s family for them to administrate. Please help us to celebrate Harvey’s life and to shine a light on how he and many other children in our society are being failed,” Mr Mulvany said.
Ms Sherratt appealed to Taoiseach Micheál Martin to end the Dáil’s summer break early in order to address the ongoing crisis in children’s spinal healthcare, reports Breaking News.
She also urged Mr Martin to support her and her husband’s call for an independent investigation into how orthopaedic services are managed at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI).
Ms Sherratt and Mr Morrison further demanded the resignation of Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris over the controversy.
In 2017, while holding the position of Minister for Health, Mr Harris admitted he was “ashamed” of the lengthy waiting times and committed that “no child” would wait beyond four months for scoliosis surgery, reports Breaking News.
Harvey remained on the surgery waiting list for seven years, including 33 months alternating on and off the active list.
Despite Mr Harris’s unfulfilled promise from 2017, and similar assurances made by his successors — former Fianna Fáil TD Stephen Donnelly and current Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill — many children are still waiting over four months for spinal procedures, reports Breaking News.
Toward the end of his life, Harvey — a wheelchair user from Clondalkin, Dublin — was unable to sit in his chair for long, as his scoliosis caused his ribcage to press painfully against his heart and lungs.
In February 2024, seventeen months prior to his death, Harvey’s father stated that the worsening spinal curve put his son at serious risk of death unless he received surgery soon, reports Breaking News.
In his plea at the time, Mr Sherratt said: “Harvey will die. He absolutely needs the surgery.”
By August 2024 — six months later — Ms Sherratt found out that, despite their public efforts, Harvey had mysteriously been removed from CHI’s active surgical waiting list, reports Breaking News.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, then leader of Fianna Fáil, called Harvey’s unexplained removal from the list without informing his parents “shocking” and “not good enough”, adding that CHI ought to “apologise” and “arrange a surgery” for him.
Harvey eventually had his spinal surgery in December 2024 — eight years after a consultant had initially informed his parents that it was necessary to prevent his spine from collapsing in on his ribcage, reports Breaking News.
Gillian Sherratt said that although the surgery came too late to fully correct Harvey’s spinal curvature, it did provide him with an extra eight months of life.
His health rapidly declined two and a half weeks ago, and Harvey died on July 29th, reports Breaking News.
His death has renewed national focus on the spinal surgery waiting list and the concerns raised by his parents, along with scoliosis and spina bifida advocacy groups, regarding CHI’s leadership.
Ms Sherratt said other children like Harvey, with “complex” conditions who need “timely access” to surgeries, are still being failed by the system at CHI, reports Breaking News.
CHI’s latest statistics show that, as of the end of July, 74 children had been waiting longer than four months for spinal surgery.
Another 57 had been waiting up to three months, with one child on the list for more than four years, reports Breaking News.
Out of a total of 231 children nationally awaiting spinal procedures, 131 were listed on CHI’s “active” surgical waiting list — the same one Harvey had previously been removed from without warning.
When asked about the demands for him to step down, the Tánaiste said he had made representations regarding Harvey’s case to both the Department of Health and CHI, but added that treatment decisions must be left to medical professionals, reports Breaking News.
A spokesperson for Mr Harris said the Fine Gael leader had already spoken with Ms Sherratt and the two plan to meet in the near future.
According to the Tánaiste’s spokesperson, Mr Harris has also requested a full multidisciplinary review of Harvey’s care timeline through Minister MacNeill, reports Breaking News.
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