Published: Wednesday, 7th July, 2010 5:00pm

Latest HSE cuts hitting society's most vulnerable

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Reports this week of funding cutbacks affecting disability services in the west of Ireland will be greeted with concern in this region and other areas where the HSE may soon be looking at cost containment proposals as it attempts to stay within budget this year. If anything, the budgetary position in the north-east region is believed to be even more finely balanced than in Galway - and that could spell difficult times ahead for a whole range of health services locally.

Families of disabled people are gathering at the gates of Leinster House today (Wednesday) to stage a protest over the cuts which, they say, will have a devastating impact on services for people with disabilities. The HSE West is looking for €2 million in cuts this year to be imposed on the Brothers of Charity, the agency which provides services to it, on top of €2.5 million in cuts already sought and €1.8m the previous year.

Those protesting this week have said that people with disabilities and their families have been presented with cutbacks to all services that they receives in the past year, such as day and residential services, and particularly respite services, while not having had any say whatsoever in the cuts. They have said on a number of occasions that these services are not a luxury.

All this week, parents and family members of people with disabilities have been telling their stories about how vital respite services provided by agencies like the Brothers of Charity are to them. Parents, many of whom are full-time carers themselves and who devote every waking minute of their lives to their disabled loved ones, have let it be known that, if respite services are lost, they simply will not be able to cope.

Respite care of just one night per week or one weekend a month provides a safety valve for carers who are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, looking after members of their families who are either intellectually or physically disabled. Yet, those who provide the safety valve of respite care claim that respite could be gone within a fortnight and community homes closed shortly after that if the HSE's new round of budget cuts is implemented. If that happens, there is a real concern that there may be no other option but for clients of these services to be forced back into the old model of care in institutions, something that has been described as a backward step that could push disability services back 10 years.

No-one wants to see a reversion to the old model of institutional care and all its associated problems and it is this fear that has spurred people to take to the streets this week. The agencies like the Brothers of Charity have said it is not possible to sustain this level of cuts without an impact on frontline services, something the HSE says it is trying to avoid. The HSE, for its part, wants the axe to come down on management and administrative functions.

There is no doubt that the HSE is under severe financial pressure this year and needs to achieve cost efficiencies to stay within budget, but wielding the axe over crucial services for the most vulnerable people of all in society cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. Those burdened by intellectual and physical disabilties - and sometimes both - and their carers should not be forced to bear the brunt of these type of cutbacks which will have really serious consequences for their lives.

The Government will need to listen very closely to the anger and fear being expressed by families and carers from all over the country at the gates of Leinster House today over this issue and the Department of Health will need to work closely with the HSE and other service providers to ensure savings can be found elsewhere that do not impact directly on services, such as respite and community homes for intellectually disabled people which their families have come to rely upon.

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