I highlight the serious case of a ten-year-old called Poppy, whose experience is a compelling example of a wider service failure for children in my constituency of Wicklow-Wexford, which covers south Wicklow and north Wexford. Poppy has complex feeding difficulties and has been referred between the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, the children's disability network team, or CDNT, primary care and the complex feeding clinic for over three years. Despite CAMHS advice that Poppy needs specialist dietary input, north Wexford CDNT has not had a dietician for the past five years. This is shocking and it means Poppy does not get the type of support she needs. Her condition has deteriorated to the point where anti-anxiety medication and possible PEG tube placement or force-feeding have been discussed. The family have funded assessments and therapies privately due to the lack public services. Poppy's case highlights the lack of such services for children in south Wicklow and north Wexford. There are many long-term vacancies in the north Wexford CDNT, there is no current occupational therapy service and only limited physiotherapy is available. Families are experiencing significant delays, there is poor communication and unclear referral pathways and parents are reporting extensive waiting lists. I want to know what is going to be done about it.

Sentiment score: -0.14

In north Wexford and south Wicklow, if a child needs specialist care, say, in the area of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, OT, speech and language, psychology or with a dietitian, if they are in desperate need, what procedures are in place if the necessary specialist intervention is not available due to staffing shortages? Does the HSE consider it acceptable that children remain without these services? If they are unavailable, is there an emergency plan B to deal with desperate cases like these? There are many of them. I know of so many people who cannot access any service, so what is plan B?

Sentiment score: 0.01