Children’s health - Screening cuts should be revised

The reduction in the health screening of primary school children would appear to be extraordinarily shortsighted on the part of the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Fine Gael has highlighted the fact that the programme now covers only a health and hearing assessment at school entry and a vision screening at school entry and exit.

Effectively, it represents a 50% cutback in what was available 12 months ago. Up to then, children in national schools were examined while pupils in junior and senior infants, as well as in second and sixth classes.

If the HSE, which is responsible to the Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney, adopted this policy as a financial saving ploy, then it is irrational.

There may be other reasons causing the cutbacks and if there are, then they should be resolved immediately.

It could be self-defeating because the previous screening programme was obviously more effective in detecting possibly serious problems in young people than the more selective method used now.

The HSE may, indeed, believe that the current system is better but it would appear that the previous programme was better placed to detect potential problems.