(Seo alt ónár bhfoireann Gaeltachta. Is féidir an bunleagan as Gaeilge a léamh anseo)
THE parents of a four-year-old who had made an appointment with a speech and language therapist in the Conamara Gaeltacht were advised to go online to take a course in the subject – and went home without having had an appointment for their child.
This account is among the stories told by parents, teachers and other members of the public in one of the remotest parts of the Conamara Gaeltacht who are protesting a decision to end the therapist’s weekly visits to their local health centre in Lettermore, Ionad Sláinte Leitir Móir.
That health centre is located in Ceantar na nOileán, the Islands’ district, which is approximately 60km west of Galway city in one of the remotest parts of the Conamara Gaeltacht. The parents and children are now being instructed to attend Ionad Sláinte an Tulaigh/the Tullow health centre is approximately 35 km to the east on the road to the city of Galway.
Caitlín Seoighe, a parent who is a spokesperson for a parent-teacher committee set up at the public meeting, told The Journal that the young girl’s parents, along with parents of other children, had been given an appointment in Spiddal, almost 40 km away, but their experience was far from satisfactory.
When they reached the location, they were given a link for an online course sent online in speech and language which they were advised to complete and advised to complete at home.
“I know there’s one little girl involved and she’s from the islands’ area and she’s never seen anyone in Lettermore,” she said.
“She was sent east to Spidéal, even further east than Tullow.
“When they got to Spidéal, the parents were instructed to go online and do this particular course.”
The Journal asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) for a statement on the matter.
“The HSE cannot comment on individual cases but if any family has concerns or questions about their care, they can contact the service to discuss the matter,” an HSE spokesperson said in a written response.
This relocation by the Health Service Executive means that children who need the support of a speech therapist will have to travel almost twenty kilometres from the remote area, which is connected to the mainland by narrow roads and over narrow bridges, to the health centre in Tullow.
At a public meeting held in the area on 9 February, concerns were expressed that this relocation of the service would be just the beginning of a reduction in other services.
Among the issues raised at the meeting were concerns about the lack of consultation before the decision and dissatisfaction that the decision was made at a meeting in early November but was not communicated until the week before the decision came into effect in mid-January.
Anne Marie Ní Fhlatharta, headteacher at Scoil Náisiúnta Rónáin, An Trá Bhán, told The Journal that this decision was causing a lot of difficulties for children who need the support of a speech and language therapist as much as other children in the area.
“It’s unbelievable that the speech therapist was taken away from the children and moved to Tulaigh and I think the worst part about it really is that no reason was given and nothing was said to anyone, not the parents or the schools,” she said.
“They didn’t get an email, they didn’t get a phone call, they weren’t told anything.”
In response to this point, an HSE spokesperson said that the decision to move the speech and language service from Lettermór to Tulaigh was a ‘local operational’ decision and that the aim was to enhance the speech and language therapy service in the area and ensure that it would be effective.
The response also stated that one of the reasons for relocating the service from the Health Centre in Lettermore to Tullow was to reduce the time the therapist spends travelling from Tullow to Lettermór.
“It takes 45-60 minutes to travel to and from Lettermór up to twice a week and if this travel time is removed, two or three additional speech and language sessions can be offered at the Health Centre in Tullow.”
It was also suggested in the statement from the HSE that the Speech and Language Therapists stored case files in Ionad Sláinte an Tulaigh but teachers and parents protesting for the relocation to be reversed have said these files were already being kept at the Lettermore location.
This is not satisfactory as a matter of course for parents and teachers in the Isles Region as the relocation is obliging parents and students to make the extra journey from Lettermór and miss up to two hours of school, not to mention the disruption to parents’ working lives.
A spokesperson for the HSE said that an attempt would be made to arrange appointments for children from the Isles Region later in the day so as not to detract from the time they spent in the classroom.
“What I understood was that they didn’t really remember these children or the parents at all,” said the principal of Scoil Rónán.
An official complaint has been made to the Language Commissioner on the grounds that there has been a reduction in the services being provided in the Ceantar na nOileán language planning area, and such a reduction is against the provisions of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021. It is also intended to raise the issue with the Minister for Community and Rural Development and the Gaeltacht.
Councilors and other public representatives were informed of the decision at a meeting of the Western Health Forum this week.
Senator Seán Kyne criticised the lack of communication from the HSE to the local community in the Islands District about the decision they made in November.
“The communications from the HSE were very poor, they made the decision about this in November and no one was informed until January,” he told The Journal.
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
