Barnardos says there is 'ongoing crisis' with children on waiting lists for health services

Thousands of children are on long waiting lists across the country for health services, according to newly released data.

Reviewing the most recent waiting list data available from the HSE, Barnardos is highlighting widespread regional inconsistencies in the time children are left to wait for speech and language services, child and adolescent mental health services and disability assessments. The charity is also looking for parents of children affected by lengthy waits for public health services to share their experience with the organisation.

June Tinsley, Head of Advocacy, Barnardos said: “Children experience a rate of development unparalleled in their lifetime. Significant delays in accessing treatment can have profound, long lasting impact on a child’s health, development and well-being. Lack of treatment can tragically result in a childhood lost. While there has been some progress in reducing the number of children waiting over a year in a few regions, our latest review of waiting list data confirms an ongoing crisis in key service areas."

Ms Tinsley said:“While Barnardos welcomes a sizable decrease (30% between September 2017 and March 2018) in the number of children waiting for speech and language therapy, there have unfortunately been simultaneous increases in the number of children waiting for speech and language assessment and further treatment. In total there are 29,481 children waiting for speech and language services across the country, 1,567 of those have been waiting over a year. There are also huge regional variations in service provision and wait times, the South of the country seems to be a particular blackspot. Children in an area with a high level of service delays could be waiting more than four years to fully avail of speech and language therapy – these kind of waits will have a devastating impact on a child’s ability to communicate for the rest of their life.”

A parent said: “My child waited 9 months to be seen by a Speech and Language Therapist, he has never spoken a word at the age of 2 1/2 years. The therapist noted he had a disorder not a delay but made no diagnosis, simply placed him back on the list for another 12 months and placed him on a list for therapy that is seven to nine months long.”

Ms Tinsley said:“Having a child’s disability needs assessed is the first stage in getting a child the support they need for a disability or developmental issue. There is a statutory requirement that all assessments are carried out within six months. In March 2018 there were 4,242 children waiting for assessment of need to be carried out. Of these, 4,104 children (80%), have been waiting longer than three months."

She said:“In March 2018 there were 2,691 children waiting for mental health services, a 15% increase since September 2017. This increase is accompanied, in most areas, by a rise in the number of children waiting longer than one year, with almost 14% now waiting more than a year for an initial appointment. It is not difficult to imagine the damage which is being done by forcing children to wait any amount of time for mental health services and support – let alone over a year. Where a child lives tragically seems to dramatically impact how quickly they receive support – 32.4% of children waiting for services in the south west (CHO4) have been waiting over a year for mental health services, whereas no children have been left waiting over a year in North Dublin (CHO9). The South East (CH05) is facing a serious crisis where three psychiatrists are resigning next month due to safety concerns, potentially resulting in no child and adolescent mental health services in this region.”

Another parent said:“My child is struggling every day and we have no idea how long we have to wait to see professionals to help.”

Ms Tinsley said: “All children deserve equal access to healthcare, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay. The present regional variations in service delivery means children are effectively entered into a lottery for support – the outcome determined by their Eircode. Unnecessary and preventable damage is being done to children who are forced to wait for essential healthcare, this is wholly unacceptable. Barnardos proposes a number of policy recommendations which if implemented would effectively tackle waiting lists. As part of this campaign, we are looking for parents and families to share their stories and experiences of being left to wait for child health services.”