Bernard J. Durkan
Question:341 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he has satisfied himself regarding the adequacy of speech therapy services throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18398/02]
Adjournment Debate. - Speech Therapy Service.
The provision of health related services, including speech and language therapy, is a matter for the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the health boards in the first instance. However, I understand all health boards are experiencing difficulties in the recruitment of therapy posts and particularly in filling senior vacancies.
Furthermore, I advise the Deputy that my Department commissioned a report on current and future supply and demand in the labour market for certain professional therapists from Dr. Peter Bacon and Associates.
The Bacon report, which was published in July 2001, concluded that a major expansion is essential in the number of speech and language therapists requiring a very significant increase in training places to meet the long-term needs of the health service. The report therefore advocated an annual increase of 75 training places for speech and language therapy in order to achieve the fourfold increase in the number of speech and language therapists over the next decade recommended in the report.
To advance this core recommendation of the report, an Inter-Agency Working Group, comprising officials from the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Education and Science and the Higher Education Authority, was established to seek proposals from third level institutions to ensure the rapid provision of the additional therapy training places. On 29 May 2002 the former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, announced the provision of 175 extra professional therapy training places for students to tackle the acute shortage of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists in the health service. This initiative almost doubles the number of therapy places available at present and it is expected that the first intake to the extra places for speech and language therapy will commence in the 2003-04 academic year.
Other key recommendations of the report include: provision of sufficient clinical placements within the health service through the establishment of a national network of clinical placement co-ordinators; need for fast-track qualification and review of the existing training system; concerted recruitment from overseas; establishment of the planned system of statutory registration consistent with the requirement for a patient-centred health service; career structure, workload, working practices and skills-mix issues encompassed in the context of the report of the expert group on various health professions, published April 2000.
Question No. 342 answered with Question No. 258.
Question No. 343 answered with Question No. 339.