Father of Harvey Morrison Sherratt says his son was 'abandoned' by disability services
David Raleigh
The father of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who died following a sudden deterioration in his health three weeks ago after he had waited several years for spinal surgery, said his late son was “abandoned” by disability services throughout his short life.
Mr Morrison was speaking in the wake of figures released by the Health Service Executive to Sinn Fein, showing almost 11,000 children were on a waiting list for an assessment by the HSE’s Children Disability Network Teams (CDNTs).
The figures also showed that 7,167 children were waiting more than a year for an initial contact from a CDNT.
Mr Morrison and his wife Gillian Sherratt have been fighting for the basic healthcare rights of children with disabilities for the past nine years.
Their son, who was non-verbal, was born with complex health conditions including spina bifida and scoliosis.
In 2024, Harvey’s name inexplicably vanished from a Children’s Health Ireland active spinal surgery waiting list. No specific reason has yet been given to the family as to how this occurred.
This occurred all the while Harvey’s scoliosis was reaching a life-threatening 130-degree curve on his spine and crushing his ribcage and putting pressure on his lungs and heart.
Harvey eventually had his surgery at Temple Street Hospital in Dublin last December, which did somewhat ease the pressure on his organs. He died on July 29th after taking a sudden turn.
Reacting to the HSE figures in respect of the CDNT waiting list, Mr Morrison said: “All I can really say is that Harvey was abandoned by local disability services in 2019 and we haven't really seen them since.”
Mr Morrison said Harvey, who could not speak, “waited five years for a talk device” from the HSE.
Harvey was “seen very rarely, if ever” by their local disability services, he said.
“Disability services have collapsed across the country. I’m not surprised by these (HSE) numbers,” Mr Morrison said.
The heartbroken dad said that, in his opinion, “the most complex children, like Harvey, have been written off” by the State.
Mr Morrison accused the State and health service of “institutional ableism”, a form of discrimination in favour of able-bodied people.
Harvey’s parents are to lead a public rally trending on social media under the hashtag #JusticeForHarvey in Dublin City next Saturday, August 23rd, in memory of their son and to highlight years of prolonged waiting lists for children with complex health, issues including scoliosis.
The family have called for Tanaiste Simon Harris to resign and retire from politics completely after he pledged in 2017 that no child would wait longer than four months for spinal surgery.
In the end, Harvey waited years, but specifically 33 months on a active waiting list for his surgery, which came too late to fully correct the scoliosis that had twisted his spine, causing him pain on a daily basis.
CHI said that following a recruitment process for an additional consultant orthopaedic spinal surgeon, one of five successful candidates had been hired and had begun working on August 11th this year.
“We acknowledge that waiting times for patients are still too long, and we continue to work to reduce the length of time that patients are waiting for appointments,” CHI stated.
It said a spinal surgery management unit, established in 2024 had helped reduce waiting times for outpatient appointments by 40%.
It said 303 spinal surgeries had been carried out and that 231 were waiting for surgery.
The Scoliosis Advocacy Network has disputed CHIs figures and argued that 242 children were actually waiting for spinal surgery, due to an additional eleven children being placed on a waiting list at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Cappagh.
Earlier Sinn Fein Limerick TD, Maurice Quinlivan, described the current CDNT waiting list numbers as “staggering” and “a disgrace”.
“These children are being failed by the government, and the CDNT model that is intended to provide family centered care is now synonymous with delays and abandonment,” the Limerick City TD said.
The HSE figures showed that out of the 10,961 children on the CDNT waiting list at the end of June 2025, 1,303 children were waiting up to three months, 1,067 were waiting between four and six months, 1,424, were waiting between seven and 12 months, and 7,167 were waiting more than a year.
“This is a systemic failure, and it will only continue to get worse if it is not addressed head on,” Deputy Quinlivan warned.
The Sinn Fein TD said that in his opinion, the CDNT model was “in complete disarray”.
“Children are routinely waiting years for assessments. Posts remain unfilled.Teams are stretched to breaking point.”
The highest proportion of children on the CDNT waiting list was at HSE Dublin and North East (2,926), followed by HSE Dublin Midlands (2,886), HSE Dublin and South East (2,593), HSE Midwest (1152), HSE West and North West (779), and finally HSE South West (625)
The HSE, the Minister for Health and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality were all contacted for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
