Latest news with #ChildDisability
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Nearly 11,000 children waiting for first contact from disability teams
Figures from the HSE show 10,961 children are waiting for first contact from a Child Disability Network Team (CDNT) at the end of June. This is a drop from the 11,527 children at the end of May. Advertisement Of the 10,961 children waiting for first contact, 7167 are waiting over a year. 1,205 children (&/or their parents) who are on the CDNT waiting list participated in one or more individual and/or group intervention appointments during June 2025. The regional healthcare area with the most children waiting for first contact from a CDNT is HSE Dublin and North East, with 2926 children. 2054 are waiting over 12 months. This area covers North Dublin, Louth, Meath, Monaghan and most areas of Cavan. Advertisement In HSE Dublin Midlands, covering Dublin South City and West and Dublin South West, Kildare, West Wicklow, Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath, there are 2866 waiting for first contact. 2087 children are waiting over 12 months in this area. In HSE Dublin and South East, which provides care to South-East Dublin, Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and most areas of Wicklow, 2593 children are waiting for first contact. 1977 children are waiting over 12 months. Advertisement In HSE Mid West, which provides health and social care services to Clare, Limerick, and North Tipperary, there was 1152 children waiting for first contact in June, with 616 children waiting over 12 months. At HSE West and North West, which includes Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, West Cavan, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon, 779 children are waiting for first contact from a CDNT. While in HSE South West, covering Cork and Kerry, 625 children are on a waiting list. The CDNTs are currently providing services and supports for 44,000 children and strategies and supports for urgent cases on the waitlist where staffing resources allow. The model of service for all CDNTs is family-centred and based on the needs of the child. This includes universal, targeted and specialised supports and interventions, as appropriate to the individual child and family.
BreakingNews.ie
20-07-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Woman waiting years for CDNT describes what her child has been put through
A woman whose child was on a Child Disability Network Team (CDNT) waiting list for years has criticised the process she and her child have been put through. Joan O'Shea, from Co Kilkenny, is the parent of a 12-year-old child, who, despite receiving letters from a CDNT, has never met anyone from a disability team. Advertisement This has led to her child being put through the CAMHS process due to the backlogs experienced in CDNT. Speaking to , Ms O'Shea described the struggles her daughter has gone through from an early age. "The minute I brought her home I knew there was something different, but of course, you have to wait. "My process would have started in 2017, I payed myself for an educational assessment to be done on her, and the woman spotted ADHD, everything lit up. Advertisement "That child is now 12, and she has not seen anyone, only Camhs. The only reason we got in with CAMHS was because I got on to John McGuinness in Kilkenny. "I had to fight tooth and nail for everything she is after getting, and we still have not seen anyone in CDNT. All we are getting are letters, we are being moved to another list, to another list, to another list. "They have now moved us from Waterford to Clonmel, she is so long waiting now she is on the adolescence list now and no longer the child's list." Having been through this process before with her oldest child, Ms O'Shea was determined to fight for everything her child could possibly need. Advertisement What her oldest child was put through in the education system showed that change was needed. "My older daughter is 20 and has many of the same issues. If you don't intervene and help, the depression becomes worse, the anger issues becomes worse, the anxiety becomes worse. "My eldest daughter got nothing. I know I have to get my daughter the help she needs or she will end up similar to my eldest daughter, who dropped out of education before she could even do her Junior cert. "My eldest child, even though she had dyslexia and ADHD and other things, was actually called thick by the teacher in her school, who is supposed to be her support network. Advertisement "My eldest child, I put her into counselling, paid for it all myself. While she has not got the best career in the world, turns out she is a brilliant barista, and has got herself a full-time job, and you know what, I can't ask for more than that." Having been on CDNT lists since 2022, and receiving letter after letter of delays. After attending a CDNT meeting in Waterford last year, it became clear the issues the HSE have when it comes to recruitment. "They had some representation from the HSE there. There is no psychologist in place for CDNT, and there hasn't been for a number of years, so I said can we not have the money you're saving paying a psychologist's wages, so we could outsource it privately? Told no, we can't do that. Advertisement "I asked what is taking so long to get a child psychology. She said nobody wants the job. She said we don't understand why nobody wants the job. "I said I know why nobody wants the job, because there is far too many kids. There is too many kids on a waiting list now for one child psychologist. The workload is too much, they are not supported." Now receiving support through CAMHS, having seen her daughter transferred to the Clonmel branch, Ms O'Shea does not hold hope she will ever see the CDNT. "I will probably never see them. My daughter will probably never receive any help from them. "I do have to say, camhs have been excellent. They have a child psychologist that sees my child every three to four months. "The problem with CDNT is they seem to push us towards workshops and self-help. When I brought my child to see the child psychologist in camhs, I couldn't beleive what they could tell me. "For instance, my daughter can hear the electricity going to the socket in the wall. She can hear that. Ireland Over 11,500 children waiting for first contact fro... Read More "We could be sitting in our house, and my daughter can tell me when a car is coming up the start of the lane, which is a good mile and a half away, and you can't see it from the house." "The minute she gets in the car, she turns off the radio. The psychologist explained to me, she is listened to the noise of the tyre of the tarmacadam. The noise of the engine, whatever other noises are going on in the car, and then whatever other noises are going on in the car. "That is something you can't learn in a workshop."
BreakingNews.ie
08-06-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Over 12,000 children waiting for first contact from disability teams
Over 12,000 children are waiting for their first contact with Child Disability Network Team (CDNT). Figures from the HSE, seen by Breakingnews, show that at the end of April, 12,106 children were waiting for their first contact from a CDNT. Advertisement Of that figure, 8298 children are waiting over a year for first contact. Of the six Regional Healthcare Areas (RHAs), HSE Dublin and North East have the longest waiting list, with 3841 children waiting for first contact, with 2980 waiting over 12 months for contact from a CDNT. 1506 children are waiting between seven to 12 months to hear from a CDNT. In Dublin Midlands, there is 3035 children waiting for first contact, with 2116 children waiting over a year. Advertisement The HSE Dublin and South East region has 2707 children waiting for first contact, with 2112 waiting over 12 months for first contact. This area covers South-East Dublin, Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and most areas of Wicklow. In the HSE Midwest, which provides care to Clare, Limerick, and North Tipperary, 1070 children is waiting for first contact, with 530 waiting over a year. The HSE West and North West, which covers Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, West Cavan, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon, has 819 children on the waiting list, with 290 waiting over a year. Advertisement In the HSE South West, covering Cork and Kerry, 634 children is waiting for first contact, with 270 waiting over a year. There are 93 CDNTs, aligned to 96 Community Healthcare Networks across the country, providing services and supports for children aged from birth to 18 years of age. The CDNTs are currently providing services and supports for 43,000 children and strategies and supports for urgent cases on the waitlist where staffing resources allow. The HSE have said CDNTs face significant challenges, including staffing vacancies, growth in the numbers of children with complex needs as a result of their disability, and growth in demand for Assessment of Need, diverting further resources away from interventions. 1,233 children and/or their parents who are on the CDNT waiting list participated in one or more individual and/or group intervention appointments during April 2025.
