Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, for coming to the House. I am raising this matter because of responses received by several families in the Cavan-Monaghan area about physical and occupational therapy assessment waiting lists. One particular letter, dated 4 November, advised that the waiting time for these assessments was 29 months. Owing to these backlogs in assessments, parents whose children need urgent assessments for therapies and treatments are being forced, at great personal cost, to go private. This is a serious financial cost just because their children cannot access services which are often abridged to other services such as resource teaching hours and special needs assistants.

The primary care services very much act as gatekeepers to those vital assessments that unlock around the resources children need to live, function and fulfil their potential. While they are the gatekeepers, parents believe they have to jump through hoops to access what are basic necessities and rights for their children. Many of the children waiting for assessments are in their formative years. It kills me to hear the desperation in the voices of mothers and fathers who just want their children to be assessed. My office is contacted weekly by parents of children who have great difficulty in getting answers from the Health Service Executive on diagnostic assessments for their children.Unfortunately, this is fast becoming the rule rather than the exception. My office receives at least a couple of representations of on this issue every week. For example, the parents of a child was who was referred in March of this year for multidisciplinary assessment were informed by letter dated 4 November that the waiting list for joint physiotherapy and occupational therapy assessments is approximately 29 months. This means the child cannot expect to be seen until August 2017, during which month the child will be nine. In the absence of the assessment, necessary interventions and assistance may be unavailable, which might impact his ability to access other important services. Is this the Government's vision for children?

It must be remembered that many of the children referred to these services, particularly the child development teams, have complex needs, including speech and language difficulties, emotional and mental health problems, autism and other issues. For parents and their children to be told upon referral to these services that the waiting lists extend to over two years leads them to question the concept of early intervention. How is forcing a child with special needs to wait for years for even a basic assessment of his or her needs deemed early intervention?

We all know that the longer children are forced to wait, the harder it is to tackle their issues and give them the skills they need to live happy and successful lives, both at home and at school. A waiting list of 29 months is unacceptable. We, particularly the HSE, need to start providing a continuous pathway for children requiring specialist interventions to have access to assessments in an acceptable timeframe. Children who experience significant gaps between their assessment and treatment can regress. They are being disadvantaged by the current situation. I know from talking to families that delays can cause a phenomenal amount of stress for parents and children. I know of parents who have indebted themselves to get money to pay for private services but they are not complaining. Parents do not complain. They want to provide for their children and to ensure they have the best start in life. In my view, current waiting lists in this area are hindering them in that regard. Identification of need at a young age and the mapping out at that time of an appropriate care plan leads to a child having a much better chance of a quality life.

Last year a report entitled, The Case of Speech and Language Therapy, was prepared on behalf of Inclusion Ireland by researcher, Pauline Conroy, aided by Simon Noone. It uses figures from the CSO and elsewhere to highlight the shortage of services. One of its most interesting points it makes is that extensive waiting lists for treatment and assessment, coupled with the trend of parents accessing private speech and language therapy services, are indicative of a system that cannot cope with demand. This is evident across the board in terms of some of the child development teams. There is a great demand for services. A 29 month waiting list is not acceptable. We need action in this area as a matter of priority.