A Letterkenny councillor has demanded that the HSE recruit more Occupational Therapists as a matter of urgency.
Regional Health Forum member Gerry Mc Monagle called on the HSE to seek derogation from the Government in relation to the current recruitment embargo to employ more Occupational Therapist (OTs).
Cllr Mc Monagle was speaking after being contacted by a number of local families who have applied for the council’s ‘Housing Adaptation Grant’ and are having to await inordinate amount of time for applications to be processed due to the lack of OTs to sign off on them.
This is resulting in the elderly and infirm who are in need of these housing adaptations be they stairlifts or adapted bathrooms/bedrooms being unduly delayed, he said.
He revealed that in one case a family said their elderly mother has been forced to sleep on the sofa for a number of months.
Councillor Mc Monagle said “This is not good enough. This is a Grant Scheme that the council has increased year on year due to demand. Our people are living longer and with that comes increased demands.
“The Council has recognised this demand and has over recent years increased the allocation for Housing Adaptation Grants to our annual budget.
“The HSE also needs to recognise and meet this demand and employ more Occupational Therapist to fast track these much-needed Grants. It is time they sought a derogation from the Government to meet the demand for more OT’s
“Families should not have to look to the private sector for Occupational Therapists to sign off on their Housing Adaptation Grants Application.”
