Kildare families waiting 18 months or more for children's assessment of needs

A local Fianna Fáil TD has spoken on the issue of assessment of need for children with disabilities, and how the issue is affecting many families in Kildare North.

Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil was speaking in the Dáil recently when 'Assessment of Need: Statements' came before the House.

Under the Disability Act 2005, Deputy Ó Cearúil pointed out, every child is entitled to an assessment of need within six months, yet throughout the country more than 14,000 children are waiting beyond that legal limit.

In Kildare North, the Deputy said, families are waiting 18 months or more on average, and the children's disability network team is operating with a 41% vacancy rate, a statistic which he said “tells its own story.”

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Telling the Dáil that early intervention “is not a luxury, it is a necessity”, the Fianna Fáil TD said that delay leads to more complex needs, more stress on families, on more pressure on the system in the long-term.

The HSE is even telling families to go to court to try and find a resolution, which is putting too much pressure on families, he said.

“I will offer two solutions that could work. I am looking at solutions rather than complaining about issues all the time”, Deputy Ó Cearúil told the Dáil.

“One solution is to establish a dedicated assessment hub or assessment hubs. We need specialised centres staffed by multidisciplinary teams with a singular focus on clearing the backlog and providing timely, high-quality assessments.

“This model has been piloted successfully in Scotland, particularly in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where dedicated hubs help to reduce assessment waiting times for children with developmental needs by more than 50%. It is targeted, measurable and replicable. We could begin by piloting this in Kildare or another county where needs are demonstrably high.

“A second solution is to provide interim therapeutic access to those awaiting assessment. My colleague, Deputy O'Sullivan, mentioned something similar in Cork. Too many children are being denied any supports until the full process is complete but in the UK and parts of Australia, families can access early interventions, including speech and language therapy, OT or behavioural support, based on flagged preliminary needs.”

Deputy Ó Cearúil said what is needed “more than anything else” is to listen to families, parents, and, “more importantly”, the children who are being impacted, some of whom are non-verbal.

“It is clear that we need to treat this as an emergency”, he said.

“It needs to be solutions based, for example, on the solutions I brought forward, but other groups and Deputies will bring solutions forward as well.

“By working in a collegial manner, trying not to politicise this for political gain and working with the Minister to the best of our abilities, we will be able to work not just on the backlog but ensure we are forward planning for children coming through the system in times to come.”