Child sex abuse victims have to go to ED

Child sex abuse victims are attending Galway University Hospital’s emergency department (ED) for examination because the State’s only 24-hour forensic treatment service for under-14s has closed.

However, the hospital does not have a doctor trained in pediatric forensic evaluation. The knock-on effect could be that child abusers will escape charges due to insufficient evidence.

Since the closure of Galway’s Child and Adolescent Sexual Assault Treatment Service (CASATS) on February 28, several children have required the specialist examination service. CASATS closed as the HSE would not agree to find additional funding of approximately €100,000 per annum, as requested by doctors, to enable a best-practice model of care