Brendan Smith Warns of Crisis in Cavan Monaghan Child Services
Brendan Smith raised urgent concerns about severe backlogs in child development services in the Cavan Monaghan area and called for promised resources and clinicians to be delivered. He said the service is in crisis and demanded extra therapist clinicians and faster assessments to support children and families.
Backlog and waiting times
Currently, access for assessment and treatment within the child development team for Cavan Monaghan from data referral for occupational therapy and physiotherapy is four years, six months. Speech and language therapy waits are ten months, and psychology is prioritising only children and young people in crisis due to increasing demand and complexity, according to HSE figures cited by Brendan Smith as at the end of last month.
Staff appointments and current capacity
Two additional posts were recently appointed for Cavan Monaghan occupational therapy and physiotherapy, and both clinicians have commenced employment, the deputy noted and welcomed. Despite these appointments, Brendan Smith emphasised that the scale of the backlog means the current staffing and capacity remain insufficient for the area.
Scale of need and caseload
Brendan Smith reported that 275 children are currently accessing Cavan Monaghan services across both counties and a further 162 children are waiting to be assessed. He said those figures paint a stark picture of the absolute need for a massive improvement in the delivery of assessments and follow-up treatment where required.
Impact on families and demands on the State
Families are increasingly resorting to private assessments and treatment they cannot afford because public services are not meeting needs, the deputy said. He described this as unfair and urged the minister to honour previously made promises, deliver the necessary resources and place clinicians where they are desperately needed.
Calls for action and wider context
While acknowledging the minister's visits and meetings with groups, Brendan Smith stressed that immediate, dramatic improvements are required in his constituency and warned similar problems exist elsewhere. He pressed for urgent additional resources so children and families receive timely assessments and follow-up supports.
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Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Cancorda. I just want to make a brief contribution on this debate as I'm coming from another meeting. Minister, I appreciate that you took the opportunity on a number of occasions to meet with groups and individuals for me, and I appreciate that. But I have to say, there is a huge backlog in assessment of needs assessments and follow-up treatment in the Cavan Monaghan area. Recently, there were two additional posts were specifically appointed for Cavan Monaghan Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy. And recently, both clinicians, therapists commenced their employment, and I welcome that. But we want to look at the background in regard to the huge backlog and delays in providing necessary assessments and follow-up treatment for children. And it's only now at the beginning of November that we had the assessment of need assessments commencing for the Cavan Monaghan area. Currently, access for assessment and treatment within the child development team for Cavan Monaghan from data referral for occupational therapy and physiotherapy is four years, six months. Speech and language therapy is ten months. And psychology are only providing treatment to children and young people who are in crisis due to increasing demands and complexity of current caseload. That's the up-to-date position as at the end of last month from the HSE. And that's very clear that this service is in crisis. And we need extra resources. We need extra therapist clinicians to provide even a modest level of service to children and to families who are in desperate need of getting those necessary supports for their children. We're very fortunate in Cavan to have Cavan to have Cavan Monaghan area. And they have 275 children accessing Cavan Monaghan services across both counties of Cavan and Monaghan. And a further 162 children are waiting to be assessed. I think those figures paint a very stark picture in regard to the absolute need for a massive improvement in the delivery of assessments and follow-up treatment if it's needed. Minister, I brought you to meet groups previously. You visited the area and we appreciate your own personal commitment. But we need to have the promises that were made. We need to have them honoured. We need those resources delivered. And we need the clinicians in place. Because there are far too many families who are actually desperate in regard to the lack of services being provided for their children. Only recently, in the last few weeks, I have had a number of families on to me telling me that even though they can't afford it, they are now sourcing private services themselves. It's unfair. It's unfair in the first place that the children that need the treatment aren't getting it. And it's further unfair then that you have families with that additional financial burden being put on them where they're trying to source that private assessment and follow-up treatment because the state is failing to deliver it. So, Minister, there's an urgent need to improve dramatically the services that are available in my own constituency at the present time. And I recognise that there are problems throughout the country elsewhere as well. Thank you, Alaskan Corder.
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