Social Democrats Candidate for Wicklow, Cllr. Jennifer Whitmore expressed serious concern at the figures released to her party co-leader Róisín Shortall TD by the HSE, which show that 90 children under the age of 18 are waiting for more than a year for psychology appointments in the West Wicklow/Kildare HSE area.
“It is shocking to see the high numbers of children that are being left sitting for over a year on a waiting list for a psychology appointment in the West Wicklow / Kildare area. This region has one of the highest numbers on waiting lists for that age group in the country when you exclude city regions.
“When you compare those times with waiting times across the remainder of County Wicklow, where no children under the age of 18 are waiting longer than a year, it shows that access to very basic healthcare is a postcode lottery. The fact that 90 children in West Wicklow and Kildare are waiting over a year for an appointment isn’t acceptable for our public health service and it shouldn’t be tolerated.
“These figures show yet again the inability of the HSE to deploy resources where they are most needed. Why do some children, and their families, have to go without support because of where they live?
“Aside from the misery that children on these lists face, the longer they have to wait for treatment, the more complex and costly interventions will be when they are reached. Investing now makes sense from both a compassionate and practical perspective.”
