Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

13. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to address the delays in assessments of need and the subsequent roll-out of services to children with developmental delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26977/22]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Frankie is two. His parents, very worried, came into my office this week because a paediatrician and their own observation established that Frankie has very serious developmental delays, is non-verbal and is showing all the signs of severe autism. They got a letter stating he would be assessed within the legally required time, and then they got a phone call shortly afterwards from the disability network team stating it would be two years before Frankie would be assessed. That is a disgrace.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I offer my apologies on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who is not able to be here. We hear stories such as Frankie's all the time, and the Minister is acutely aware of the current situation.

The new standard operating procedure for assessments of need was implemented for all new applications for assessments of need from 15 January 2020. Since then, approximately 10,000 preliminary team assessments have been completed. In quarter 1 of this year, the data indicate there were 1,719 assessment of need reports completed. The recent judgment of Mr. Justice Phelan in the High Court directed that the preliminary team assessment approach does not fulfil the requirements of the Disability Act. The judgment states a diagnosis is required to determine the nature and extent of a person's disability. The implications of any ruling from the Court of Appeal in respect of other relevant cases will be considered as soon as that becomes available. The HSE will now implement a process for a revised approach to assessments of need. In developing this, the HSE has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including families, providers, staff and representative bodies, in an intensive consultation to develop a pathway for assessment of need that seeks to comply with the requirements of the Act but also protects the commitment to the provision of intervention and principles as set out above.

It is important to note that what is different now that was not there before is that children do not require an assessment of need and may be referred directly to their local children's disability network team. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, would be able to speak about this subject much better. She has worked so hard on this, receiving funding through the Minister to make sure the assessments of need are carried out. Many children are then referred on to waiting lists, and there are huge issues in receiving these therapies.

I ask Deputy Boyd Barrett to refer the case that has been brought to his attention to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I certainly will refer it to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. I have also been talking to one of the barristers who is taking many of these cases and the situation is very bad. This story suggests the establishment of the disability network teams is not making any difference; it is just another layer. We have assessments of need, disability network teams, CAMHS and NEPS. It is all fragmented. In reality, while they might tick certain boxes, they are not actually doing the assessments or getting the services. The point is Frankie's future and the future of many thousands of other kids are at stake. If Frankie gets the early intervention and the supports now, he will be fine. Despite developmental delays and so on, he can flourish. If he does not get that, his future will be seriously jeopardised, as will the future of many other children. There are new layers of bureaucracy. Disability network teams, by the way, are 28% understaffed. That is the problem.

I will talk in a minute about the psychologists and the lack thereof. We need the law to be upheld and the rights of Frankie and other children to be upheld.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish to point out an important point. The assessments are being done. There have been 10,000 assessments done over the past two years. Obviously, the court ruling has challenged that. There were 1,719 assessments done in the first quarter of the year. My understanding is the assessments are being done and that children are being referred on to different multidisciplinary teams and the supports are not there.

Since 2019, funding has been provided by the Government for approximately 475 new development posts, enhancing the network teams throughout the country, with a similar situation being seen in a lot of the multidisciplinary teams. The teams are not full - we know that - and there is the same issue with recruitment and retention. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has taken to having meetings in the various community healthcare organisations, CHOs, to listen to parents and to hear from those who are providing supports. I met with the psychologists recently. I will come back to that in a moment.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

A preliminary assessment is not an assessment of need. That is the point and that is what the judge ruled on. It was a way of appearing to tick the box of assessment without actually giving the assessment necessary or the diagnosis. I see the Minister shaking his head. Why do Frankie's parents get a letter stating they will get their assessment by May? This is a tick box the law requires of them. This was earlier this year. The box is ticked, but then they get a call from a human being in the disability network team who says it will be two years before Frankie gets assessed. This is the difference between ticking boxes and actually doing assessments and then providing the services that are needed. I am not a psychologist. I have raised this so many times. If the Department wants to staff the teams, it should remove the barriers to psychologists being qualified and getting their doctorates such as extortionate fees. I know that is not a matter for the Department of Health, but we need joined-up thinking. There is no funding for educational or counselling psychologists. It is impossible for people who want to do psychology and who want to help children like Frankie, vulnerable children, to get qualified. Barriers are put in their way.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Deputy Boyd Barrett has spoken about the fact we need early interventions. I raised a Topical Issue matter on this and spoke about Louth and Dundalk and the lack of occupational therapists, OTs, and speech and language therapists in the area. There are people who have been assessed and who are being told they will not get services for a year or two years. Obviously, that is not on. I am back to the same issue. It is a matter of ensuring we have the throughput of training and we remove all obstacles. Beyond that, we need to do a serious amount of workforce planning, because otherwise we will fail these people, children and families, and the impact long term will be devastating.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It is acknowledged there are serious challenges in the filling of therapy posts due to the availability of new opportunities across the health and social care sector. As I have said, 475 posts have been developed since 2019. I reiterate that assessment of need reports will no longer be issued on the basis of a preliminary team assessment, and the HSE will engage directly with the families of those who received a PTA to establish if they wish to receive a further assessment under the terms of the Disability Act.

As for little Frankie, to whom Deputy Boyd Barrett referred, the Deputy is completely right that early intervention is key. Two years is not an acceptable wait time for any child or his or her family. If the Deputy sends on those details to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, I will discuss the matter with her.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We have a couple of minutes left. I could allow Deputy Connolly's question to be answered briefly.