COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, January 11, 2016
MOTION NO.6
MOTION: Councillor E. Ó Broin
This Council calls on the Housing Department to reinstate the practice of funding OT reports for Council tenant applicants applying for home adaptation grants who are living north of the Naas Road as an interim measure, and for the Council and HSE to agree a permanent solution to this issue so that all council tenants in South Dublin County Council area are treated equally and receive the OT services on the basis of need and not where they live.
REPORT:
In order for a DPG application to be processed it is essential that an Occupational Therapy Report is carried out and submitted with each application. It has come to our attention that the Dublin West region are not providing Occupational Therapy Reports for applicants and consequently we are unable to carry out any works on properties without this report.
The role of the Primary Care Occupational Therapist (HSE) is to provide the following:
- Advice re local authority grant system
- OT functional reports
- Advice and provision of specialist and enabling equipment to optimise safety/independence
- Wheelchair assessment and seating provision
- Advice for pressure relief relevant to seating
- Assessments for hoists and other manual handling equipment provision
- Carer advice and support
- Onward referral to Occupational Therapy Specialists as required e.g. paediatrics, specialised seating units
A decision seems to have been made by the HSE Dublin South Central, (Former Dublin West) region to not provide OT reports to applicants who wish to apply for DPGs. SDCC have received no explanation from the HSE as to why this service has been discontinued in this one particular area. This is entirely a matter for Management of the HSE. A meeting has been requested by SDCC and the HSE in order to discuss this matter and endeavour to resolve the issue.
It is not feasible for South Dublin County Council to reinstate the practice of funding OT reports as this service is under the remit of the HSE. It is imperative that the monies allocated to DPG and small works are used for the provision of DPG works and not for other services. The average cost of an OT report between €170 to €250. In order to provide all 134 outstanding applications with OT reports, the cost would be approximately €26,000. The Council is currently in discussion with the HSE Dublin South Central to overcome the issue.