Ms Nicola Hart:

When the HSE diluted the assessment of needs, we heard a huge outcry from professional bodies saying that this is meant to be a multidisciplinary team assessment. One cannot shorten this to the point where it is one or two professionals in a very short space of time having to make a judgment that will have a huge impact on the ongoing services for that child.

I would not work in a system that expected me to phone parents, ask them to describe how their child is doing over the phone and try to decide a priority list to bring into the clinic on that basis. I would not work for a system that expected me to only deliver indirect therapy when I know that there is no research evidence to back that up. That is unethical.