CHILDREN with disabilities are being forced to wait years for treatment with one desperate mother declaring “I could qualify as a psychologist by the time my son gets to see one.”
It comes as the court system is being jammed up with new legal cases being taken against the HSE almost every week as parents fight to get their children the care they are legally entitled to under the Disabilities Act 2005.
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Some 18,303 children are currently on a waiting list for occupational therapy; 8,167 are waiting for speech and language support and 9,532 are waiting to see a psychologist.
Teresa Carr Buckley has two sons Pierce, 13, and Cormac, 9, who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Mum Teresa told the Irish Sun that she has been forced to battle with the HSE every step of her sons’ lives in a bid to get the care they need.
Teresa took Pierce for his first ever assessment when he was two years old but he was not diagnosed with ASD until around two years later after his mum got fed up of waiting on the public list and went to a private service.
This private diagnosis was paid for by St Vincent De Paul because Teresa couldn’t afford the assessment at the time – which can cost up to €650.
She said: “Pierce has no strength in his arms to open a jar. I’m currently looking for occupational therapy and the HSE in my area has told me that there is actually no occupational therapist in Enniscorthy at the moment.
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“So I could be months or years waiting to get Pierce help. The only alternative for me now is to go private.”
HUGE EXPENSE
Pierce is also suffering from extreme anxiety due to his condition and has started to self harm by biting his hands and leaving them badly scarred.
Teresa has tried for four years to get access to a psychologist for Pierce but has instead been offered to enroll him in an outdoor education camp.
The HSE are deeming this camp as a respite service for Teresa – a service she applied for in 2017 but has not received.
She said: “The waiting list for a psychologist was so long it was nearly four years. So I could have been nearly qualified as a psychologist by the time Pierce would have seen a psychologist.”
Pierce’s little brother Cormac has been forced to wait two and a half years for Speech and Language therapy and only got the support he needs through his primary school St Senan’s who fundraised to pay for private services to help their pupils.
LEGAL ACTION
Hundreds of parents have taken legal action against the State because their children are being left without care on waiting lists that can last up to three years.
John Rogers is a solicitor whose firm Rogers Law is involved on a pro bono basis in scores of cases where families have taken legal action against the HSE due to these enormous waiting list times.
Under the Disabilities Act 2005, children are legally entitled to have an assessment of their needs within six months – however, the HSE is failing to meet this target with some kids being left to wait two years just to find out what their disability is and what services they need.
Figures released in November last year show that 212 legal cases have been taken against the HSE due to a failure to get assessments for children, however solicitor John Rogers told the Irish Sun that more cases are coming before the courts every week.
He said: “It is taking up to two years in some parts of the country for children to be assessed. It’s also a geographical lottery because in Cork you could be waiting three years to see someone while in Sligo there could be no waiting list.
“This is time these children are not going to get back and it is detrimental to their future.
“After you get an assessment you could then be waiting another three years for the services you need. So a child who is three years old when they start the process could be nine years old by the time they get the services they need.
“Parents don’t want to be coming to solicitors. It’s terrifying for them. But they’re being forced to go to court to get their children the services they are entitled to.”
INVESTIGATION DELAYS
In a statement to the Irish Sun, the HSE confessed that in 2018 there were delays in investigating complaints by families which have led to a number of court cases.
They said six cases have been taken so far this year based solely on the delay to investigate complaints along with a number of other court cases related to other aspects of the assessment of needs system.
A spokesperson for the HSE told the Irish Sun that an internal review of the assessment of need system found inconsistencies and inequalities in the services which led to the new change to a Standard Operating Procedure.
She said: “These changes are intended to alleviate the current situation where children in some parts of the country may wait a number of years before they can access an assessment.
“During this waiting period, they often have little or no access to intervention or support.
“It is intended that the changes in the SOP, particularly the new preliminary assessment, will facilitate children with disabilities to access assessment in a timelier fashion.”