NEWS - IN THIS SECTION
5 January 2006
Children in nine month wait for treatment
A NATIONAL centre set up to treat children with a devastating spine
disorder is being overwhelmed less than a year later, surgeons said
yesterday.
They warned that 100 children with scoliosis were being left untreated
for up to nine months because of a shortage of staff and facilities at
the
Michael McMaster, the director of the Scottish National Paediatric Spine
Deformity Service and one of only two surgeons in
operate on the condition, said several more surgeons were needed for the
unit.
Last year, Andy Kerr, health minister, announced that paediatric spinal
services for the whole of
recommendation of the National Services Advisory Group.
The Scottish Executive, which said yesterday that funding for the
service has all but doubled to £1.8m a year, recognised the burden
placed on the unit under the present arrangement.
A spokesman said it was in the process of recruiting a third surgeon.
Mr McMaster and his colleague, Thanos Tsirikos, will see 1300 children a
year from across
twisting of the spine. Surgery takes place critically close to the
spinal cord.
Mr McMaster said: "Because this is such a specialist field, in order to
be able to do this surgery you need to have lots of special additional
training.
"This is difficult surgery and potentially dangerous and there are not
many surgeons around who have had the training, and that's the difficulty."
Scoliosis can develop at any time during childhood and adolescence, and
often it is teenage girls who are suddenly affected by its rapid onset.
Princess Eugenie, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of
operation for it In 2002, at the age of 12.
Because of growing restriction on the heart and lungs, the condition is
potentially fatal if left untreated. Lengthy operations are needed, in
which in some cases, metal pins are inserted into the spine to
straighten it.
The condition becomes more severe over time, and the longer children
wait for an operation, the more complicated and risky it is for the
surgeons to correct.
Mr Tsirikos said there were currently 100 children on the list for the
procedure. "We are putting more patients on the waiting list than we
take out, which is the difficulty now," he added.
The Scoliosis Association said the shortage of surgeons was getting
worse throughout the
"The position in
given the geography and the long distances people have to travel.
"People are also waiting much longer than they should be and it seems
that it's worse now than it used to be."
Around four children in every 1000 develop scoliosis and in cases
arising in adolescence girls outnumber boys 8 to one. Although there is
a familial element in some cases, the cause is largely unexplained.
Email Alan MacDermid <mailto:alan.macdermid@theherald.co.uk >
A NATIONAL centre set up to treat children with a devastating spine
disorder is being overwhelmed less than a year later, surgeons said
yesterday.
They warned that 100 children with scoliosis were being left untreated
for up to nine months because of a shortage of staff and facilities at
the
Michael McMaster, the director of the Scottish National Paediatric Spine
Deformity Service and one of only two surgeons in
operate on the condition, said several more surgeons were needed for the
unit.
Last year, Andy Kerr, health minister, announced that paediatric spinal
services for the whole of
recommendation of the National Services Advisory Group.
The Scottish Executive, which said yesterday that funding for the
service has all but doubled to £1.8m a year, recognised the burden
placed on the unit under the present arrangement.
A spokesman said it was in the process of recruiting a third surgeon.
Mr McMaster and his colleague, Thanos Tsirikos, will see 1300 children a
year from across
twisting of the spine. Surgery takes place critically close to the
spinal cord.
Mr McMaster said: "Because this is such a specialist field, in order to
be able to do this surgery you need to have lots of special additional
training.
"This is difficult surgery and potentially dangerous and there are not
many surgeons around who have had the training, and that's the difficulty."
Scoliosis can develop at any time during childhood and adolescence, and
often it is teenage girls who are suddenly affected by its rapid onset.
Princess Eugenie, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of
operation for it In 2002, at the age of 12.
Because of growing restriction on the heart and lungs, the condition is
potentially fatal if left untreated. Lengthy operations are needed, in
which in some cases, metal pins are inserted into the spine to
straighten it.
The condition becomes more severe over time, and the longer children
wait for an operation, the more complicated and risky it is for the
surgeons to correct.
Mr Tsirikos said there were currently 100 children on the list for the
procedure. "We are putting more patients on the waiting list than we
take out, which is the difficulty now," he added.
The Scoliosis Association said the shortage of surgeons was getting
worse throughout the
"The position in
given the geography and the long distances people have to travel.
"People are also waiting much longer than they should be and it seems
that it's worse now than it used to be."
Around four children in every 1000 develop scoliosis and in cases
arising in adolescence girls outnumber boys 8 to one. Although there is
a familial element in some cases, the cause is largely unexplained.
Email Alan MacDermid <mailto:alan.macdermid@theherald.co.uk >
A NATIONAL centre set up to treat children with a devastating spine
disorder is being overwhelmed less than a year later, surgeons said
yesterday.
They warned that 100 children with scoliosis were being left untreated
for up to nine months because of a shortage of staff and facilities at
the
Michael McMaster, the director of the Scottish National Paediatric Spine
Deformity Service and one of only two surgeons in
operate on the condition, said several more surgeons were needed for the
unit.
Last year, Andy Kerr, health minister, announced that paediatric spinal
services for the whole of
recommendation of the National Services Advisory Group.
The Scottish Executive, which said yesterday that funding for the
service has all but doubled to £1.8m a year, recognised the burden
placed on the unit under the present arrangement.
A spokesman said it was in the process of recruiting a third surgeon.
Mr McMaster and his colleague, Thanos Tsirikos, will see 1300 children a
year from across
twisting of the spine. Surgery takes place critically close to the
spinal cord.
Mr McMaster said: "Because this is such a specialist field, in order to
be able to do this surgery you need to have lots of special additional
training.
"This is difficult surgery and potentially dangerous and there are not
many surgeons around who have had the training, and that's the difficulty."
Scoliosis can develop at any time during childhood and adolescence, and
often it is teenage girls who are suddenly affected by its rapid onset.
Princess Eugenie, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of
operation for it In 2002, at the age of 12.
Because of growing restriction on the heart and lungs, the condition is
potentially fatal if left untreated. Lengthy operations are needed, in
which in some cases, metal pins are inserted into the spine to
straighten it.
The condition becomes more severe over time, and the longer children
wait for an operation, the more complicated and risky it is for the
surgeons to correct.
Mr Tsirikos said there were currently 100 children on the list for the
procedure. "We are putting more patients on the waiting list than we
take out, which is the difficulty now," he added.
The Scoliosis Association said the shortage of surgeons was getting
worse throughout the
"The position in
given the geography and the long distances people have to travel.
"People are also waiting much longer than they should be and it seems
that it's worse now than it used to be."
Around four children in every 1000 develop scoliosis and in cases
arising in adolescence girls outnumber boys 8 to one. Although there is
a familial element in some cases, the cause is largely unexplained.
Email Alan MacDermid <mailto:alan.macdermid@theherald.co.uk >
A NATIONAL centre set up to treat children with a devastating spine
disorder is being overwhelmed less than a year later, surgeons said
yesterday.
They warned that 100 children with scoliosis were being left untreated
for up to nine months because of a shortage of staff and facilities at
the
Michael McMaster, the director of the Scottish National Paediatric Spine
Deformity Service and one of only two surgeons in
operate on the condition, said several more surgeons were needed for the
unit.
Last year, Andy Kerr, health minister, announced that paediatric spinal
services for the whole of
recommendation of the National Services Advisory Group.
The Scottish Executive, which said yesterday that funding for the
service has all but doubled to £1.8m a year, recognised the burden
placed on the unit under the present arrangement.
A spokesman said it was in the process of recruiting a third surgeon.
Mr McMaster and his colleague, Thanos Tsirikos, will see 1300 children a
year from across
twisting of the spine. Surgery takes place critically close to the
spinal cord.
Mr McMaster said: "Because this is such a specialist field, in order to
be able to do this surgery you need to have lots of special additional
training.
"This is difficult surgery and potentially dangerous and there are not
many surgeons around who have had the training, and that's the difficulty."
Scoliosis can develop at any time during childhood and adolescence, and
often it is teenage girls who are suddenly affected by its rapid onset.
Princess Eugenie, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of
operation for it In 2002, at the age of 12.
Because of growing restriction on the heart and lungs, the condition is
potentially fatal if left untreated. Lengthy operations are needed, in
which in some cases, metal pins are inserted into the spine to
straighten it.
The condition becomes more severe over time, and the longer children
wait for an operation, the more complicated and risky it is for the
surgeons to correct.
Mr Tsirikos said there were currently 100 children on the list for the
procedure. "We are putting more patients on the waiting list than we
take out, which is the difficulty now," he added.
The Scoliosis Association said the shortage of surgeons was getting
worse throughout the
"The position in
given the geography and the long distances people have to travel.
"People are also waiting much longer than they should be and it seems
that it's worse now than it used to be."
Around four children in every 1000 develop scoliosis and in cases
arising in adolescence girls outnumber boys 8 to one. Although there is
a familial element in some cases, the cause is largely unexplained.