Over the years, I got to know Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison quite well as they campaigned for the care of their young son, Harvey. They are an ordinary couple who wanted to bring up and raise their family as best they could, but in an extraordinary situation. They welcomed me into their home numerous times over the years. They are neighbours of mine. I did not know them before this campaign, but I would like to think I would have got to know them under different circumstances. Any time I was in their home, I never got to meet Harvey, but I feel like I know him. The reason I did not get to meet him was because he was either too sick or in hospital. However, over the years, I feel I have got to know him. If you go by Harvey's home, there is a lovely tree outside and on that tree, there is a beautiful photograph of Harvey. It stops people in their tracks as they are walking down the street when they see the beautiful smile that young boy had. It is like a ray of sunshine on the road. It is heartbreaking to think of this horrible loss of life. Six weeks ago, Gillian and Stephen marked what should have been Harvey's tenth birthday. Harvey had a seven-year wait for scoliosis surgery, and this sparked outrage across the country. He sadly passed away in July, following years of pain and breathing difficulties. Prior to his passing, Harvey's spine had reached a life-threatening 130° curve, which pressed down on his ribcage and put pressure on his heart and lungs. If anybody has seen the video of Harvey trying to breathe, it is another heartbreaking instance and a very visual example. It captured the emotions of the nation. Harvey was let down so many times. He was removed from the critical waiting list without his parents' knowledge. Have his parents been given a reason at this stage? I raised this last November. Have they been given a reason at this stage as to why he was taken off that critical waiting list? He was not treated well. He only lived nine and a half years. He spent 33 months deteriorating in pain, not being able to do the things he wanted to do due to his pain level. His parents had to watch him deteriorate. When he finally got the surgery he really needed, tragically he only lived for another short eight months. It is very important that parents like Harvey's, and others who have been directly impacted by years of false promises and mistreatment, are at the heart of any public inquiry and must be in partnership in this. Anything else will not do justice for Harvey. I want to take a second to commend the other advocates who have been calling for a statutory public inquiry into spina bifida and scoliosis services. I cautiously welcomed this back in November and the reason for that was because parents have been let down so many times. We are looking to see what the terms of reference are. We need to see that Nayagam report published because that could lead to the better terms of references that have been called for. I know there are legal issues there, but the Minister has been sitting on it for a while and I would like to see it addressed.

Sentiment score: 0.03