Child sex abuse victims face a 60 hours wait to be examined

Date Published: 13-Dec-2010

By Dara Bradley

Health cutbacks mean child sex abuse victims in Galway and the West could be forced to wait more than 60 hours for forensic examinations while the wait for the same service for sexually assaulted adults is just two hours.

A slashing of HSE West’s budget means despite the opening of an adult Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) there are no emergency or out-of-hours services provided for sexually assaulted children in Galway.

City Councillor Catherine Connolly has slammed the HSE West for cutting back the service and the government for its “utter failure to ensure sufficient funding for the most essential services while sparing no monies in relation to saving the banks”.

The Independent General Election candidate has received representations from paediatric consultants in Galway who have threatened to withdraw their provision of paediatric forensic facilities for children from this Sunday, December 19.

She said she fought hard to get the SATU clinic up and running on the Tuam Road, which although temporary, provides a 24-hour emergency cover seven days a week for adults who have been sexually assaulted.

At the same facility, however, where paediatric services for sexually assaulted children are being provided, Cllr Connolly says paediatric forensic examiners will not be on a rota and not available 24 hours a day; will not be paid to do emergency examinations at weekends or out of hours in the evenings; will not be indemnified or insured to do medical examinations on children out of hours; and are not funded in any way to provide emergency telephone advice in or out of hours.

“The reality is as a result of cutbacks, there is now no emergency service for children under 14 years of age who have been sexually assaulted. “

And in contrast to an adult victim who will be seen within two hours of assault, a child sexually abused on, for example, Friday, will have to wait until Monday for a paediatric forensic examination,” said Cllr Connolly.

Read more in this week’s Connacht Sentinel