Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has said that a reply from the HSE to his Dáil questioning of speech and language provision in County Clare highlight serious inefficiencies in the current system for delivering services.
Deputy Carey said that despite increased funding, waiting times for those seeking consultations continue to soar, and the number of persons waiting for initial assessment also rises.
He said that it is clear from the HSE reply that the system for delivering speech and language services in County Clare is broken and not meeting the needs of patients.
Deputy Carey has again called on Minister of Health, Mary Harney, to directly take control of the situation and ensure that waiting lists are cut and regular consultations are scheduled.
He said:
“The reply I received from the HSE outlines how mystem for delivering services.
Deputy Carey said that despite increased funding, waiting times for those seeking consultations continue to soar, and the number of persons waiting for initial assessment also rises.
He said that it is clear from the HSE reply that the system for delivering speech and language services in County Clare is broken and not meeting the needs of patients.
Deputy Carey has again called on Minister of Health, Mary Harney, to directly take control of the situation and ensure that waiting lists are cut and regular consultations are scheduled.
He said:
“The reply I received from the HSE outlines how much funding has been put into speech and language provision in the past three years, how many are waiting for initial consultation and how many are in receipt of treatment. What it tells us is that there are now 1020 people waiting for a consultation in County Clare for speech and language services. This is a damning statistic. While the funding has increased by one third since 2006, it begs the questions, what are they spending the money on? The number of referrals in the past three years has not increased hugely year on year, yet the waiting list continues to grow. Someone has to answer for that. There are enough manager in the HSE to be able to deal with this issue.”
“The one conclusion we can take from these figures is that there is no efficiency in the delivery of services. In the past weeks since I raised this issue, dozens of parents have contacted me with their horror stories about trying to access services. Some are waiting up to a year for an initial consultation, and then in many cases, they are only given appointments for once a month. It’s vital we deliver these services timely and regularly particularly where young children are concerned.”