School speech and language therapy
Deputy Curran raised a child awaiting school-based speech and language therapy through Stewarts Care and cited a full HSE service. The Taoiseach sympathised but could not discuss the individual case, saying the current system was not working and that a new school-based pilot was due to begin in autumn.
Page 92 of the programme for Government states that a new model of in-school speech and language therapy will be established. In that regard I refer specifically to a six year old girl in my constituency who is attending Stewarts Care Limited. She intends to progress to primary school in September and a referral has gone from Stewarts to the HSE. Unfortunately the response states:
We have received the response. Currently the team has reached full capacity with 750 children already in service. The application will be held on file and reviewed as soon as capacity within the team is available. Given the current circumstances, it is difficult to estimate when she will have access to speech and language therapy. However, given the current demand for the service and resources available, it is likely to be approximately 24 months.
A girl of six years of age cannot wait for two years.
Comment on this
I am very sorry to hear about that case. However, the Deputy will appreciate I am not in a position to comment about individual cases without having all the information and without having the right to waive privacy and all those things of which he will be aware. We all acknowledge, notwithstanding the additional resources and staff, that the current system is just not working, which is why we are pursuing this new model providing speech and language therapy through schools. I believe that pilot is supposed to begin this autumn in one of the community healthcare areas and if it works, it may provide the solution for the future.