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\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Irish Sun, Ireland\u2019s bestselling daily tabloid newspaper, has unveiled a \u2018Kids Can\u2019t Wait\u2019 <\/em>campaign in print and online to help support sick children on waiting lists and their families.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hospital waiting lists in Ireland have been steadily increasing for the last number of years with more than 106,000 children now waiting for various medical treatments. However, with new figures emerging that 288 children are currently on a waiting list for life-changing spinal surgeries, The Irish Sun has stepped in to shine a light on how the State is failing sick children and give their families a voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The focus of The Irish Sun’s \u2018Kids Can’t Wait\u2019 <\/em>campaign is to encourage the Government to urgently resolve the backlog of operations on the waiting list, giving these children a chance of living a normal life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Irish Sun is now calling for children’s orthopaedic and urology surgery waiting lists to be cut and for no child to be left waiting over four months for an operation. The media outlet is also asking that anyone who wants to support the cause signs their petition at thesun.ie<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once the petition hits 1,000 signatures The Irish Sun will share it with Government and demand action is taken to end the waiting time for children that desperately need surgical care.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The campaign, which is already strongly supported by The Labour Party, shares the personal stories of children who are currently waiting for spinal surgery, with their conditions getting worse as time goes by and having detrimental effects on their overall health and wellbeing. As a result of these delays, many children will be outside the therapeutic window when their treatments are eventually approved, leading to further complications.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Earlier this month, the Seanad heard how at least one child has become permanently paralysed since the issue was raised publicly before Christmas. Their plight has been spearheaded by Senator Tom Clonan, who has a child with a disability. Both outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and current Minister for Health Stephen Donelly also admitted that the health service is failing these children.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Editor of The Irish Sun, Fiona Wynne says: <\/strong>\u201cIt is heartbreaking to hear of so many children suffering while waiting for medical care across Ireland. These children have been failed by the Irish Government and the State. They should be carefree and enjoying their childhood days, but instead, the burden of waiting for medical care weighs heavy on them and their family. Here at The Irish Sun, we want to show these children and their families support and demand the government to take immediate action.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n