Higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said he has received a full report on the case, and the university will take follow-up action.

“The university has taken steps to cover the existing workload. The children will get other specialists,” he told reporters after a Ramadan programme organised by his ministry here today.

On March 2, FMT reported that 17 children with spina bifida were in limbo after the neurosurgeon assigned to treat them was accused of sexual harassment and suspended from Jan 10.

Medical researcher Noraishah Mydin Abdul Aziz, a member of a team of experts treating 30 children with spina bifida, said delaying surgery could have a lifelong effect on them.

Noraishah said the 30 children awaiting post-surgery treatment have been affected by the neurosurgeon’s suspension.

She said the neurosurgeon had the highest success rate in the country, as shown by the track record of the specialist team comprising the neurosurgeon, a urologist and herself.

She urged the government to temporarily allow the neurosurgeon to return to work until the investigation is concluded.