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Dr Gill interviewed last night on Prime Time. Children and TBI. Scooters and no helmets. Conclude with numbers admitted to children’s hospital

Thought for 26s

Dr Irwin Gill (Consultant Paediatrician / Neurodisability at Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street, Fellow of the Faculty of Paediatrics) has been speaking out in recent interviews and a RCPI Faculty of Paediatrics position paper about the sharp rise in serious head injuries among children linked to e-scooters (often without helmets).

rcpi.ie While I didn’t locate an exact “Prime Time” TV episode from the night before your query, the details align closely with his warnings on RTÉ radio/podcasts and related coverage around late 2025 into 2026.Brief Outline of TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and Its ImpactTBI is damage to the brain caused by an external force (e.g., a fall, blow, or jolt). In the context of scooters, it usually results from high-speed falls onto hard surfaces, often when unhelmeted. Severity ranges from:

• Mild (concussion — most common): Brief change in mental state or consciousness.
• Moderate to severe: Longer loss of consciousness, skull fracture, bleeding/swelling in the brain, or need for surgery/ICU.

Short-term effects can include headache, vomiting, confusion, dizziness, seizures, or coma. Many children require hospital admission, scans, monitoring, or emergency neurosurgery. Long-term impact on children is especially concerning because the brain is still developing. Effects can appear immediately or emerge later (“growing into deficits”) as academic and social demands increase.

Common persistent issues include:

• Cognitive: Problems with memory, attention, concentration, learning, executive function (planning/impulse control), and slower processing speed. Some children show lasting drops in school performance or need extra support.
• Physical/motor: Balance/coordination difficulties, weakness, fatigue, chronic headaches, or (in more severe cases) mobility issues. Risk of epilepsy can increase.
• Emotional/behavioural: Irritability, mood swings, impulsivity, aggression, anxiety, depression, personality changes, or ADHD-like symptoms. Social relationships and self-regulation can be affected.
• Broader life impact: Poorer educational outcomes, reduced employment prospects, challenges with independence, and higher long-term mental health needs. Even some mild TBIs can lead to subtle but persistent neurocognitive or behavioural problems years later. Severe cases may result in lifelong disabilities (e.g., mobility loss, cognitive impairment). pedneur.com

Recovery varies widely — many children improve significantly with rest, rehabilitation (physio, occupational/speech therapy, neuropsychology support), and time, but outcomes depend on injury severity, age at injury, prompt treatment, and support. Helmets significantly reduce the risk and severity of TBI in wheeled activities like scootering. In the e-scooter cases highlighted by Dr Gill and colleagues, many children experienced new movement problems (~40% of neurosurgical/ICU admissions) and cognitive difficulties (~80%). Some face potentially lifelong consequences, with hospital stays averaging around 19 days — comparable to car-related trauma and much longer than typical bike falls.

childrenshealthireland.ie Numbers Admitted to Children’s Hospital (CHI at Temple Street). Temple Street is Ireland’s national paediatric neurosurgical centre. According to the RCPI Faculty of Paediatrics position paper and related CHI/RSA statements (data up to late 2025):

• E-scooter accidents have become the leading cause of traumatic brain injury admissions in children at Temple Street, accounting for over 25% of paediatric neurosurgical admissions in the period studied — surpassing falls, bike accidents, sports, and car crashes in this setting.
• Since e-scooter legislation came into effect (May 2024), 25 children were admitted to CHI at Temple Street with e-scooter-related TBI.
• In the year prior to the December 2025 reports, more than 20 children sustained serious brain injuries from e-scooter falls.
• Average hospital stay: ~18.7–19 days.
• Nearly half required intensive care (ICU) and/or emergency neurosurgery.
• 95% of these severely injured children were not wearing helmets.
• Broader trend: E-scooter-related presentations (all injuries, not just TBI) at CHI emergency departments (Temple Street, Crumlin, Tallaght) increased fourfold since 2021 and doubled after legislation; projections for 2025 exceeded 400 such presentations across CHI sites. rcpi.ie

Dr Gill and colleagues strongly urge parents not to buy e-scooters for children (illegal for under-16s on public roads in Ireland, including as passengers) and emphasise that helmets help but do not eliminate the risk — many injuries occurred at speeds above the legal limit or in other high-risk scenarios.These are serious, potentially life-changing injuries. Awareness, enforcement of age rules, helmet use, and supervision are key prevention steps. If you or someone you know has been affected, contact Children’s Health Ireland, Headway, or Acquired Brain Injury Ireland for support resources.

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