‘It’s diabolical’ – mother slams HSE over long waiting time
By Aideen O'Flaherty
The mother of a six-year-old boy with autism has slammed HSE waiting times for services in Chamber House in Tallaght, saying that the treatment that they have received has been “above neglect – it’s a lack of respect for human beings”.
Geraldine Conlon, from Glenshane in Tallaght, received a referral to Chamber House for her son, Tadgh Hopkins, in 2015, where he got his first assessment, however, according to Geraldine, the caseworker who was working in Chamber House left shortly afterwards.
Geraldine Conlon with her son Tadgh
Her son didn’t receive a referral to the early intervention team after the caseworker left, and in 2016 Geraldine paid for a private assessment where Tadgh, who has severe autism and is non-verbal, was diagnosed with autism.
In May 2016, the mother-of-four was informed that there was a waiting list of 32 months for Tadgh to see the school age team, but last Friday she was told the waiting time is now 46 months.
Geraldine told The Echo: “They’re after telling me that my son will be ten before he gets any services from Chamber House.
“This is just not fair. It’s an absolute disgrace when you think about the amount of children who are left waiting for these services in childhood.
“There is no early intervention in Ireland, there is no care. He’ll be ten before he gets services – I don’t call that early intervention.
“It’s had a huge impact on our lives. It took two and a half years for me to get Tadgh into school, because they couldn’t see his needs from the paperwork I had.
“It’s knocked us from life – since he got his diagnosis our lives have revolved around him and his needs.”
Since seeking help for Tadgh’s needs in Chamber House, Geraldine says she has been met with lengthy waiting lists for services, and is particularly concerned about her son getting to see a speech and language therapist as soon as possible, as he is non-verbal.
“It’s diabolical,” she said. “It’s above neglect – it’s a lack of respect for human beings.
“I just want someone to stand up, take responsibility and be held to account for this.
“It’s four years later and we’re still suffering the consequences [of waiting for Tadgh to get services].”
A HSE spokesperson confirmed to The Echo that current waiting time for children to be referred to the school age team is 46 months, adding that “the next child to come off the waiting list was referred in June 2015 and the waiting list has not moved in the last 16 months. The waiting time is subject to staffing resources. In the absence of additional staff resources this waiting time has been increasing month-by-month.”
They also confirmed that there are currently 170 children awaiting intake to the Dublin South West (DSW) Early Intervention Team and 333 children awaiting intake to the DSW School Age Team.
