Some children with disabilities who attend the government’s therapy unit will be receiving treatment through the NGO Inspire after it was awarded a tender to provide part of the service.
Staff shortage remains one of the greatest challenges
As from this month, the government’s Child Development and Assessment Unit, that has been criticised for its long waiting lists and lack of staff, would outsource occupational therapy services to Inspire, the Health Ministry said.
Occupational therapy helps children acquire basic skills such as sensory awareness and physical coordination. The CDAU has also issued a call for applications for the outsourcing of psychological services. The tender was being adjudicated, the ministry said.
Inspire CEO Nathan Farrugia said that the outsourcing of the occupational therapy services was a very positive development but it was only an initial step and more had to be done.
The contract was worth about €35,000, an amount that would cover 400 children for eight therapy sessions each.
Mr Farrugia was concerned about the continuity of the service because such children needed regular sessions. He was also worried because it was not clear whether the contract would cover also new referrals or only existing patients listed at CDAU.
Inspire, which was formed following the merger of Eden Foundation and Ir-Razzett tal-Ħbiberija, had long been battling with raising the necessary funds to cover its therapy sessions.
When the merger happened, the government stopped its funding for therapeutic services. As a result, Inspire has to cover the therapeutic costs – about €300,000 a year – through fundraising and parent contributions.
Due to the problems at the CDAU, in the past, parents of disabled children registered at CDAU took their children to Inspire to ensure continuous treatment.
Mr Farrugia questioned whether such children would benefit from the new outsourcing agreement.
The CDAU came under fire in an internal government document released towards the end of 2010.
The report, drawn up by a government-appointed task force, revealed that hundreds of disabled children were made to wait for months between one appointment and the other and some were on the waiting list for over a year for their first appointment.
In January 2011, the parents of five children who use Inspire’s services wrote an open letter to the Health Minister calling on the government to provide effective and continuous therapy by funding services offered by NGOs, like Inspire. They said therapeutic services offered by the CDAU were inadequate and urged the government to take action to ensure children like theirs had access to efficient therapy.
The Health Ministry said the paediatric and psychiatric departments “were engaged in gradually implementing further initiatives related to the organisation of staff and services at CDAU and in the community. Staff shortage remains one of the greatest challenges.”