Nearly 8,900 children in Ireland were waiting for a disability assessment beyond the time limit required by the Disability Act by the end of 2023, RTÉ reported on March 19, citing a report prepared by the Irish Health Service (HSE) for the Sinn Fein.
Almost 7,000 children were waiting to be detained for more than three months. It should be noted that in the third quarter of 2020 the number of children waiting was 6,058 people and in the first quarter of 2022 it was reduced to 1,718 people.
However, in March, the Irish High Court ruled that the HSE’s disability determination practices were inconsistent with the Disability Act and the waiting list began to grow, reaching a record 8,893 children.
The HSE stated that it would allocate €11 million to solve this problem, but noted that outsourcing this task is difficult. Minister of State Anne Rabbitt said there was no justification for such long queues, but noted that the High Court decision had had such consequences.
Coneja assured that solving the problem is one of his priorities for 2024.
Recall that due to a shortage of medical personnel, queues for elective operations in Ireland increased among both children and adults.
Also read: Ireland plans to build surgical centers to combat queues
Source: Rossa Primavera
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