Connacht Tribune
Children and teens waiting over a year for psychological assessment
More than half of the children and teenagers in Galway on a list for a psychological assessment have been waiting over a year for treatment.
New figures supplied to the Connacht Tribune reveal there are a total of 380 children aged between five and 17, who are waiting for psychology assessment and treatment.
A total of 199 of these children – 52% of the total – are waiting for more than 52 weeks for treatment.
The damning statistics also reveal that Galway has the third worst highest psychology waiting lists of the 30 other primary care units across the country. Only South Lee in Cork (216) and Wexford (226) had more children waiting for over a year for treatment than Galway.
Other western counties such as Mayo and Roscommon, which comes under the same primary care area, have just one and 15 children respectively waiting for over a year.
Nationally, there are 1,652 children waiting for over a year for psychology treatment – and Galway’s lengthy waiting list represents 12% of that total.
The Health Service Executive released the information following a parliamentary question asked by Galway East TD, Anne Rabbitte.
The Fianna Fáil frontbench spokesperson for children and youth affairs said the HSE was failing Galway’s young people by leaving them waiting so long for treatment and assessment.
The Portumna-based politician said early intervention is critical when dealing with young people with mental health problems and needs.
“They are waiting to get an assessment; they are waiting to know the level of intervention they need. This could be children who are displaying symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder, or autism, or it could be to see if they are on the spectrum. This is holding up their domiciliary care allowance and it is holding up carers allowance.
“It could also be teenagers, who are suffering from low self-esteem, low confidence and who are self-harming and having suicidal thoughts. They need to be assessed early, so that the health services can intervene and get the treatment they require.
“Waiting for over a year makes their condition worse. The waiting times in Galway are the third highest nationally, and it is not acceptable,” said Deputy Rabbitte.
She pointed out that the waiting lists for psychological assessments for children aged under four are relatively low compared with between five to 17 year olds.
“This shows that we have a problem once they reach national school and secondary school – they are not getting the early intervention,” she said.
Of the 380 children aged between five and 17 on the waiting lists in Galway, some 49 are waiting three months or less; 61 are waiting between three months and six months; 38 are waiting six months and ten months; 33 are waiting between ten months and twelve months; and 199 are waiting over a year.
Deputy Rabbitte said that the youth counselling service offered by Youth Work Ireland on Prospect Hill in the city – which faced closure due to Government funding cuts earlier this Summer – offers a vital early intervention service for young teenagers trying to ‘fit in’ while making the transition to secondary school. It is relatively inexpensive, she said.
Another service is offered by Youth Advocate Programmes (YAP) but according to Deputy Rabbitte the numbers being referred to it have fallen dramatically this year compared with other years, which is adding to the waiting lists.
Deputy Rabbitte blamed the ‘gatekeepers’ in the HSE in Galway for the shocking delays in assessing and treating young people.
“The gatekeepers are the ones that don’t want to release the money,” she said.
“It is about money. We have great CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) teams in Galway, we just don’t have enough of them.
“Is it that the HSE doesn’t want to pay the money for more CAMHS teams to tackle the waiting lists, or is it that they cannot recruit the necessary personnel in the area of youth mental health,” she asked.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
