Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 October 2013
539. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the reason front-line staff are not being replaced while waiting lists for services are growing, with 34,617 persons, mostly young children, waiting for speech and language therapy, of whom 6,500 are waiting longer than a year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44447/13]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Health Service Executive has operational responsibility for the delivery of health and personal social services within the ambit of its Vote (Vote 39). The level of health services to be delivered within the available funding has been set out in the HSE National Service Plan, which I approved in January.
The Government has decided that the numbers employed across the public service must be reduced in order to meet its fiscal and budgetary targets. The health sector must make its contribution to that reduction. This policy requires the health service to reduce its workforce to 98,938 wholetime equivalent employees by the end of 2013. However, the HSE can make staff appointments once it remains within its overall employment ceiling and has the financial resources to do so.
With regard to the HSE's Speech and Language Therapy Service, I understand that each individual that presents to the Service has an initial assessment to determine their individual need for therapy. The therapist, in conjunction with the parent(s) or carer, will determine the severity of the individual's difficulties and prioritise for therapy accordingly. The level of intervention is in line with clinic policy, age and severity of the diagnosis. The waiting period for intervention is dependent on the nature and severity of the disorder following assessment.
The HSE aims to ensure that the resources available are used to best effect, in order to provide assessment and ongoing therapy to children and adults in line with their prioritised needs. Along with the significant investment in area of speech and language therapists employed in recent years, a range of new approaches have been developed and used in many Speech and Language Therapy services across the country. These include providing structures, training and support to parents /carers so that they can work to help improve the individual's speech and language. In addition, therapy is delivered in group settings where appropriate. The HSE has stated that it is committed to working in partnership with other service providers to achieve maximum benefits for children and adults with speech and language therapy requirements, and aims to ensure that, the speech and language therapy resources available are used in the most effective manner possible.
