More than 26,000 people are on waiting lists to see occupational therapists, according to new figures from the Health Service Executive.
The figures, which were sought by Labour TD Róisín Shortall, show that almost 20,000 adults and 6,627 children are waiting to see an occupational therapist.
Occupational therapists assess the needs of people with mobility problems and help them overcome the effects of disability caused by illness, ageing or accident. Typical occupational therapy clients include stroke victims or elderly people recovering from an accident.
Ms Shortall said she knew of one case where a woman in her eighties had a hip replacement in 2006. She needed an orthopaedic chair, a level access shower and a stair rail. "She had to wait for 12 months for an occupational therapy assessment before being cleared for the provision of these badly needed medical aids," Ms Shortall said. "She just wasn't regarded as a priority."
The woman was in the Dublin northwest area, where there were 14 unfilled occupational therapist posts, Ms Shortall pointed out.
She said some older people could avoid going into nursing homes if they had mobility aids to allow them to live independently, yet the Government was not supporting this service.
"These are truly shocking figures that reveal the full impact of last year's HSE embargo on the recruitment or replacement of staff and point to the urgent need for the early filling of all outstanding posts," Ms Shortall said.
She said there was a national recruitment campaign for occupational therapists early last year but while a panel of 150 was established, many of the posts were put on hold because of the recruitment embargo. "The result of this is that there are now 183 vacant occupational therapy posts nationally, with shortages in every HSE area."
According to the figures, 2,020 people are waiting for an assessment in Wexford, and a further 1,600 in Waterford.
"While Minister Harney and Prof Drumm denied the embargo caused any suffering for patients, the reality on the ground was very different," Ms Shortall said.
A Health Service Executive spokesman said that since the establishment of the HSE in 2005, it had considerably increased the number of occupational therapists employed in the service.
