Children's Ombudsman demands answers over lengthy waiting lists for care
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The Ombudsman for Children has called on HSE chief Paul Reid to come before the Oireachtas to explain the continuing problems with Assessments of Need (AON) for children with a disability, with some facing a wait four years or more.
Dr Niall Muldoon's office published a report called Unmet Needs last year which focused on issues facing children seeking interventions, including Assessment of Need. A year on, he is now demanding an explanation as to why waiting lists are still growing, despite commitments to address them.
Assessment of Need is carried out by the HSE for children or young people with a disability, with the aim of determining what the child needs in terms of intervention or therapies. It is to be conducted within a statutory timeframe, but families and professionals working in the area have said AON is often delayed and even when it's carried out, they can still be left waiting for the services they require.
It's understood Dr Muldoon has written to HSE CEO Paul Reid and to the Minister for Disability, Anne Rabbitte, about the issue. Ms Rabbitte recently revealed that there are nearly 4,000 children are currently waiting for an AON, despite the introduction of revised measures aimed at tackling the backlog.
Dr Muldoon called for the HSE to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth to account fully and publicly for the ongoing problems with AON and said an explanation is needed for the build-up in cases and what will be done to tackle it.
“We are still receiving complaints from parents of children who are waiting very long periods for an Assessment of Need and subsequently for the services they require. This is extremely distressing considering the fact that early intervention is vital to securing positive outcomes for children."
One recent complaint which came to Dr Muldoon's office related to a six-year-old child awaiting a multidisciplinary assessment for four years — since he was 28 months old.
Since October last year, additional financial resources, new therapy posts, the implementation of a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and the reconfiguration of children’s disability services into Children’s Disability Network Teams have all been cited as methods of addressing the issue.
"We were told these measures would improve the situation for children but instead we are seeing another worrying rise in the number of children waiting to be assessed," Dr Muldoon said.
He said children are not being given the opportunity to reach their potential as a result and "do not have the luxury of time when it comes to waiting for their needs to be assessed, as is their right under the Disability Act 2005".
The HSE said a preliminary analysis of the assessment of need process showed approximately 2,067 applications for AON were overdue completion at the end of last month.
A HSE spokesperson said: "The number of AONs completed in the first three quarters of 2021 is the highest since the commencement of Part 2 of the Act in 2007. To date, 6,204 assessments have been completed in 2021. This figure has been influenced by the Disability Act Compliance Improvement Scheme."