East Cork children left waiting due to lowest HSE CDNT staff ratio in county 

TD highlights 'deeply uneven CDNT provision' with 'significantly fewer clinicians available for each child in East Cork'

East Cork staff ratio (1.49 per 1,000 children) is the lowest in the county — but Carrigaline (1.6) and the Northside of Cork City (1.73) come close. Picture: iStock

Children in East Cork could face delays in accessing primary mental health evaluations after it emerged that the region is greatly understaffed compared to other areas in the county.

The HSE's 'east central Cork' area, covering areas including Midleton and Youghal, has just 1.49 staff working on its children’s disability network team (CDNT) per 1,000 children in the region, according to new figures from the HSE.

That compares with 4.77 staff in Cork central, 3.1 in south east Cork City, and 2.41 in south Cork City.

At 1.49, the ratio in East Cork is the lowest anywhere in the county, though other areas such as Carrigaline and the northside of Cork City come close with just 1.6 and 1.73 staff per 1,000 children respectively.

CDNTs are the HSE’s initial layer of treatment for children aged up to 18 with complex needs, including psychological, physical and speech issues.

Engaging with a CDNT is a precursor for children for entry to Camhs, the broader mental health support framework run by the HSE for children and adolescents.

East Cork understaffing exacerbated 

The understaffing seen in East Cork is further exacerbated by the fact that the 1.49 ratio figure represents the staffing positions funded by the HSE, with only 17.96 staff recruited out of the 20.70 positions actually currently filled.

The HSE had not replied to a request for comment on the matter at the time of publication.

However, in responding to parliamentary questions on the topic from Social Democrats TD for Cork East Liam Quaide, the HSE’s mental health lead for the area Carol Mannix said the health service, together with Section 38 and 39 organisations, is “operating in a very competitive global market for healthcare talent, as there are significant shortages of qualified healthcare profesionals worldwide”.

“This impacts on filling of posts and full delivery of service to families,” she said, adding that nevertheless the HSE continues “to make all efforts to fill posts as quickly as possible and minimise the impact on children and their families”.

Mr Quaide described the scenario as indicative of “deeply uneven CDNT provision” noting that his own constituency has significantly lower than the average across Cork of 2.15 staff for every 1,000 children.

That means there are significantly fewer clinicians available for each child in East Cork than in all other parts of the county. 

He added that the fact the approved allocation for the area is not even fully staffed represents “a double inequity: Too few posts on paper, and too many of those posts left unfilled”.

He called for a "clear, time-scaled plan” aimed at bringing CDNT staffing levels up to a consistent standard, “so that a child’s access to therapies is not determined by where they live".

 Primary care services for child psychology have been strained for some time across the country, with waiting lists lengthening exponentially as a result.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Last summer it emerged that some children had been waiting as long as 13 years for a primary care assessment within the HSE.

The same problem has long affected Camhs services also, with 4,500 children and adolescents awaiting entry to the mental health supports system as of last month.

The waiting list for those services had surged in the first three months of the year, with 587 children recorded in March as having had to wait for more than a year to access Camhs services.