Ireland's Eye

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Ireland's Eye

May 29, 2008

Waiting for Therapy

CHILDREN on the southside of Dublin in need of speech and language therapy are waiting over two and a half years in some cases to have their special needs assessed, a TD (member of Parliament) revealed last week.

Deputy Brian Hayes tabled a number of parliamentary questions to the Health Service Executive (HSE) that also revealed how 4,136 children in the Dublin area are on the waiting list for services.

The information obtained shows that there is an average wait for speech and language therapy in Dublin of about 18 months.

“That even one child has to wait such an outrageous time for these vital services is a disgrace, but that this Fianna Fail government has left over 4,000 children languishing for an average of a year and a half to access speech and language is indefensible,” Hayes said.

Figures for last year show there is a massive disparity in average waiting times between different areas across the city. Hayes pointed out that the statistics show a child’s access to speech and language services is completely dependent on their address.

Average waiting times for speech and language services at HSE local health offices in Dublin last year included Dublin west (32 months), Dublin south (31 months), Dublin south city (28.5 months), Dublin north (14.6 months), Dublin northwest (10.5 months) and Dublin north central (three months).

“Almost everywhere the waiting times are completely unacceptable, especially for those in Dublin west and Dublin south who have to wait over two and a half years on average,” Hayes added.

The Fine Gael education spokesman said the situation was getting worse year by year, with average waiting times in Dublin having doubled since 2004 with certain areas suffering more than others.

In a statement the HSE said the waiting period for intervention for children requiring speech and language therapy was dependent on the nature and severity of the disorder following assessment.

“Each child who is referred to the HSE or voluntary agency for a speech and language service has an initial assessment,” the spokesperson explained.

“The therapist in conjunction with the parent or parents will determine the severity of the child’s difficulties and prioritize for therapy accordingly. The level of intervention will be influenced by the child’s age and severity of diagnosis.”

Dublin People

Cancer Scare

THE family of a Grangegeeth woman who died from cancer last August said she had “gone through hell” after being misdiagnosed and described the recent sending by the HSE of a second letter addressed to her informing her that her x-rays were being reviewed as a precaution as “rubbing salt in the wound.”

The letters addressed to Nancy Kealy arrived within three days of each other following the HSE’s announcement that it was contacting more than 4,500 patients whose x-rays and CT scans at Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, might have been misread.

The letters were opened by her son, Ray, who believes that his mother is among those patients who had been misdiagnosed by a locum consultant radiologist who worked at the two hospitals between August 2006 and August 2007.

The consultant, now living in Scotland, was quoted as stating that he had admitted to making one misdiagnosis but was at a loss to know why he was being blamed for other alleged mistakes.

Meanwhile, the number of patients in the north-east whose cancer was misdiagnosed as a result of tumors not being spotted on initial chest x-rays rose to six.

These cases are said to have come to light as part of a review of the work of the locum radiologist. In all, some 6,000 chest x-rays and 70 CT scans worked on by the radiologist are being reviewed.

The family of Mrs. Kealy say they are appalled at the way she was misdiagnosed and are tortured by the thoughts of what might have ensued if a proper diagnosis had taken place. Her son, Ray, speaking on behalf of his father Oliver, sister Bernadette and brothers Richard and James, said this week that Mrs. Kealy had first gone to the doctor on March 9, 2007 for treatment of what she thought was a cold. She made a return visit on March 19.

The doctor thought she had pneumonia and referred her to Our Lady’s Hospital, where she underwent x-rays and a CT scan. On March 27 the CT scan result declared that she was clear. In the intervening period, say her family, she picked up an MRSA bug at the hospital.

She was discharged from Navan Hospital and her family felt she would be better at home. “She was very ill at that stage. We didn’t know anything about MRSA or its symptoms. Four or five weeks later, she was back in hospital,” her son said.

A doctor said she was clear of MRSA. Her son said that the doctor had shaken his mother’s hand and told her, “You’re okay to go home, Nancy.”

“The family felt that Nancy was not okay and myself and my sister went back to the doctor. He did an examination and he had a worried look on his face. He organized an x-ray straight away. Inside two hours of her being told she was okay to go home, we were told that she had not long to live.”

She was transferred to St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin, where she had 10 sessions of radium treatment. Eventually, the family brought her home and she died six weeks later on August 5.

Her son said that his mother had had cancer in her brain, lungs, liver and kidneys and asked how such a misdiagnosis of her condition could be made. “How could that not have been picked up in the CT scan?” he asked.

A letter dated May 16 and addressed to Mrs. Kealy recently arrived at the family home advising her of a “look-back exercise” being undertaken at the Louth/Meath Hospital Group to review a number of “routine” chest x-rays and CT scans. It said that Mrs. Kealy’s x-ray/CT scan was among those being reviewed.

On Monday of this week, another letter — again addressed to Mrs. Kealy — was sent to her address apologizing for the error in mailing her the first letter “but saying this is the proper letter,” Mr. Kealy said.

“They apologized for sending out the wrong one, but saying this is the proper one – and my mother is dead since last August. It was like rubbing more salt in the wound.”

Meath Chronicle

Sheep Concerns

CONCERNS for the future of sheep farming in the county were raised at the monthly meeting of the Donegal Irish Farmers’ Association.

Committee chairman George O’Hagan said that morale was low in the farming community due to a number of difficult years and continuing rising costs in production. He said that he was concerned if sheep farmers did not enjoy a good year this year the sector could “disappear.”

County chairman William Monagle said they had hoped former Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan could have “pulled something out of the bag” before her promotion and change in ministerial profile and added he hoped new minister Brendan Smyth could act on the crisis in the sector.

Sheep committee chairman Seamus Quinn, said the main problem was the current price of lamb and the rising cost of production, adding that he believe there was no “quick fix” in resolving the problems.

O’Hagan said farmers needed an “incentive to produce” and the main thing they required to improve the situation was “a decent market price.”

On a positive note, he added that currently there was a growth in the domestic level of lamb consumption.

Donegal Democrat

Baby Massages

MOTHERS in Sligo are turning to baby massage as a way of giving their new born a better start in life.

Baby massage is now seen as a way to help mom and baby bond better, and it also comes with a host of health benefits.

A course in learning the techniques of baby massage is growing in popularity among moms in Sligo, who have started to learn of its advantages.

Course leader Annette Monaghan explained how her interest in baby massage began. “I just had my first child and I went along to a breastfeeding support group. It was there that baby massage was demonstrated. I started massaging my first baby Matthew and after seeing its benefits, I decided to sign up to become an instructor.”

She has been giving the course at St. Michael’s Family Life Center in Sligo for two years. And its popularity has grown steadily during that time.

“It is a great way to help parents bond with their baby. And with the busy lives mums and dads have these days, the class is a way of spending time exclusively with their new born. It is a two-way thing and there are huge benefits for both baby and parent.”

Babies have to be at least two weeks old before they are accepted onto the class. But babies cannot be at the stage where they are crawling.

“If the baby is crawling then all that baby wants to do is explore. It is hard to keep them still long enough for the class and it’s not as beneficial. It can also disrupt the other babies,” says Monaghan.

Sligo Weekender

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