"Shameful": Over 4,670 Children Await Therapies In Kildare And West Wicklow, Senator Demands Action

Tuesday, 8 October 2024 10:31

By Martin Osborne

Senator Mark Wall said there needs to be immediate action from Government through the removal of recruitment embargos.

Over 4,670 children are awaiting therapies across Kildare and West Wicklow.

The figure has has been described as "shameful".

Speaking on Kildare Today, Kildare Senator Mark Wall said there needs to be immediate action from Government through the removal of recruitment embargos.

He has also called for an abandonment of the "pay by numbers" model being implemented by the HSE.

"The operation of early intervention is not an office plaything to have between the HSE and the Government," said Senator Wall.

He added: "The collateral damage is the families of the 4, 670 children awaiting therapies across Kildare and West Wicklow Local Health Office. These waiting list figures show, once more, a sector in total crisis. From the lack of therapy being offered to families awaiting a first time intervention and the retention and recruitment chaos that frontline workers are dealing with on a daily basis it is now time for the Government to step in at the highest level."

"We have no child in Kildare awaiting audiology services, that to me is a red flag, especially from people I know are awaiting such intervention. In Cork, we've seen Audiology statistics centralised into one LHO, which fails to show the proper geographic spread and where resources should be directed," he said.