Action on waiting lists for children is required

FIANNA Fáil TD, James Browne has said urgent action is needed with regard to clearing waiting lists for children’s Assessment of Needs appointments.

Commenting on the matter to this newspaper Deputy Browne referenced the Disability Act 2005, and said such assessments must begin within three months of a completed application form being received.

‘ The assessment must be completed within a further three months,’ he said.

However, he said the latest figures from the HSE revealed that at the end of March, 5,083 children were overdue Assessment of Needs appointments - which was a 42 per cent increase on the same time last year.

Deputy Browne said the last three months will have compounded the figures even further as a result of the lockdown.

However, he added no child should be waiting longer than three months for an initial appointment.

‘It is also worrying that there is now an upward trend in the numbers on the list,’ he said.

‘ There is no doubt in my mind that these figures will have increased further over the past three months given the fact that all non- COVID related appointments have been cancelled,’ he added.

While acknowledging that was the correct approach given the circumstances Deputy Browne said people are worried because their AON appointments will now be delayed even longer.

‘Unfortunately, disability services were not prioritised by the last Government,’ he said.

‘ There is no excuse for children missing important assessment appointments [and] without these they are unable to access the care and supports they need,’ he added.

He said thousands of children are being failed by the current system and that a radical shift in policy is needed to ensure that disability issues are treated as a matter of urgency.