Over 870 people in Laois are waiting over a year for occupational therapy. There are 1140 people are awaiting Speech and Language Therapy while 292 people not been accessed to date.
This is according to Laois TD Brian Stanley.
Deputy Stanley described the numbers on waiting lists for these services as ‘shocking’.
“Shocking figures released to Sinn Féin show massive waiting lists for Occupational Therapy (O/T) and Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) in Laois/Offaly.
“These are the most basic services and it is important that people have access to them in a timely manner,” said the Sinn Féin TD.
The Occupational Therapy statistics show the total number of people awaiting First assessment is 2127 and 1607 of these are children. 878 are waiting for more than 1 year with the majority of these, 795 being under 18 years of age.
“Also of huge concern is the fact that 419 of these are elderly people who are still awaiting an initial assessment.
“In the case of Speech and Language Therapy the situation is not much better with a total of 1140 awaiting this service and 292 people not been accessed to date,” Deputy Stanley added.
He stated that the delays in accessing these services can have a, ‘profound and long lasting impact on a person’s development and well-being’.
“The reality is that the window of opportunity, when it comes to SLT and O/T for children, is short and significant delays can negatively impact on their development. It is an accepted fact that these key interventions must happen at the correct time in a child’s development.
“If not it can cause additional problems for them into the future and into adulthood. Essentially these waiting lists are destroying the future for children.
“Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy services are in crisis and it’s just another part of the overall dysfunctionality in many parts of the Health Service.
“The Government need to put a plan in place for the future. The population is growing and more people need to be trained and more therapists recruited to work in a properly functioning Public Health Care system,” he concluded.
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