REVEALED: Therapy posts remain vacant in Kilkenny as current staff 'snowed under'

Approximately 30 therapy staff positions in primary care services in Carlow and Kilkenny, including 13 speech and language therapist posts, were vacant last year.

Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that there were 30.1 whole time equivalent (WTE) vacancies in therapy services in Carlow and Kilkenny at the end of August 2022.

Two young musicians from Kilkenny to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York

HSE data shows that around 13 speech and language therapist posts were vacant in the two counties at the end of August last year, along with 11 physiotherapy posts, three psychology posts and 2.5 occupational therapy posts.

The FOI request was sent in September, 2022 and a reply was received in December.

Meanwhile, almost 1,500 children were on waiting lists for an initial contact from therapy services in Community Health Area 5, which encompasses Carlow/ Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford, at the end of September last year.

Some 518 children had been waiting for an initial contact in the region for more than a year.

Local councillor Eugene McGuinness said staff on the ground are snowed under as a result of large waiting lists and staff vacancies.

“I get dozens of phone calls all the time from parents trying to get access to these services only to be told they could be waiting more than a year or up to two years,” Cllr McGuinness said.

The independent councillor called on the Government to do more to support staff on the ground to allow them to do their jobs effectively.

‘Don’t let this be the end’ - plea to reopen Kilkenny Squash Club facilities

“The level of staff vacancies comes as no surprise to me,” he said.

“I don’t think I’ve had a phone call from someone saying they were able to get services in a timely fashion, whichever service they require. There’s a huge backlog across the entire spectrum of therapy services and I’m sick and tired of listening to the government on it,” he added.

“It’s up to the government to help staff to do their job.”

Cllr McGuinness explained that he understands therapists seeking careers elsewhere.

“If I was a young person starting out now in this sector, I’d be looking at moving to Australia or New Zealand, where they value their staff, pay them properly and provide suitable and proper working conditions and back-up services,” he said.

Garda impersonators are targeting Kilkenny homes with multiple victims reported

“If one of my children was to enter any of those professions tomorrow, I’d tell them to go to Australia, go to New Zealand because your back is going to be broken in Ireland. As soon as you take on a job like that, you take on a lot of responsibility and I think a lot of the younger people working in these services are snowed under with work and struggling to cope, and that can lead to health issues for the very staff the HSE is trying to get to deal with the waiting lists.”

South-East Community Healthcare was contacted for comment.