Brian Stanley: Government breaking disability law, services failing
Brian Stanley accused the Government and the HSE of repeatedly breaching statutory referral timelines for child disability services, citing assessment backlogs, 21-month average waits and rising case numbers. He demanded immediate targets, recruitment and a workforce plan to address widespread vacancies and the shortfall in therapy services.
The speaker said referrals are meant to be done in three months and completed within six, but the Government and the HSE are "breaking the law" by failing to meet those timelines and allowing the situation to deteriorate.
He reported that the number on waiting lists has risen to over 18,000, with average referral wait times of 21 months plus and some families waiting a further six to twelve months; some children now wait over two years. He said the position worsened between October and November according to answers to parliamentary questions.
He outlined shortages in child disability network teams, citing Network 11 with eight vacant posts and Network 12 with 11 vacancies - a total of 19 vacancies in those teams. He said there are no behavioural therapists, no therapy assistants, only half of physiotherapy posts filled, the same shortfall among social workers, and no occupational therapists for child services; he also reported no approval to recruit.
He warned that lack of assessment and intervention is causing children to regress now and will create larger problems later in life. He said families are left without services and that the State is increasingly forced to use the private sector for assessments, at a cost of "three and a half thousand plus" per assessment.
He called on the Government and the HSE to set clear targets, recruit and retain staff, and implement a workforce plan to train and place professionals where they are needed. He argued that without targets and staffing the problems - clear for decades, he said - will not improve.
Allegation of legal breaches
The speaker said referrals are meant to be done in three months and completed within six, but the Government and the HSE are "breaking the law" by failing to meet those timelines and allowing the situation to deteriorate.
Backlog and waiting times
He reported that the number on waiting lists has risen to over 18,000, with average referral wait times of 21 months plus and some families waiting a further six to twelve months; some children now wait over two years. He said the position worsened between October and November according to answers to parliamentary questions.
Vacancies in child disability teams
He outlined shortages in child disability network teams, citing Network 11 with eight vacant posts and Network 12 with 11 vacancies - a total of 19 vacancies in those teams. He said there are no behavioural therapists, no therapy assistants, only half of physiotherapy posts filled, the same shortfall among social workers, and no occupational therapists for child services; he also reported no approval to recruit.
Consequences for children and families
He warned that lack of assessment and intervention is causing children to regress now and will create larger problems later in life. He said families are left without services and that the State is increasingly forced to use the private sector for assessments, at a cost of "three and a half thousand plus" per assessment.
Demands for targets and workforce planning
He called on the Government and the HSE to set clear targets, recruit and retain staff, and implement a workforce plan to train and place professionals where they are needed. He argued that without targets and staffing the problems - clear for decades, he said - will not improve.
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Transcript
Minister, the fact that the Government are breaking the law and still breaking the law years after this is highlighted is absolutely scandalous. Referrals are supposed to be done in three months and completed within six months. The situation is getting worse as has been outlined here. The fact that it has gone over 18,000 now and I can tell you in Lee Shoffley the figures are ballooning. It is an absolute scandal what is happening. The average wait times for referrals is 21 months plus and that can be plus another 6, 7, 8 or 12 months more. Some wait over two years and it has got worse. From figures I have got, answers to parliamentary questions which I have here, it shows that it has got worse even between October and November of this year. The wait time for assessments to be carried out and completed and have to wait for that and then to find that there are little or no services. According to replies that I am getting the Dáil questions, the picture is not getting any better. The child disability network teams in Leish are dreadbear. Network 11 has eight vacant posts. Network 12 has 11 vacancies and that is in a relatively small county. A total of 19 vacancies in the CD&T teams which I said are dreadbear. There are no behavioural therapists, no therapy assistants, only 50% of the physiotherapy posts are filled. The same for social workers. There are no occupational therapists for child services. That is what the HSE told me in a letter up to recently. And there is no approval to recruit. That is what they told me. All of this is causing problems for children and families and children are regressing because of the lack of intervention and services. And this is leading to problems now but it is going to lead to bigger problems in later life. So the Government need to stop breaking the law. The Government and the HSE have not set targets. I cannot figure out why you haven't done this. If you have no targets, you won't progress. The problems are clear, have been clear for decades. We don't have the staff in the right place. We need a clear workforce plan to train and retain those people. And the fact that the State has to go to the private sector and pay three and a half thousand plus for an assessment of needs, it shows a complete failure. We need to recruit the staff and we need to retain them and we need to get at it now. It has been said here for years that we now need to do it. Deputy Mayor