A THALIDOMIDE survivor is forced to live alone in an unlocked apartment in Galway city at night because the HSE will not give her a grant to adapt locks on her doors to suit her disability, an Oireachtas committee was told yesterday.
Maggie Woods was one of a number of thalidomide survivors to outline to the Oireachtas health committee the ongoing difficulties of survivors in getting State support despite an agreement entered into by the Government in 1975 to perpetually cater for the evolving needs of thalidomide survivors.
Ms Woods said she had to downsize her accommodation from a house to an apartment last July but when she sought funding from the HSE to convert the locks on her doors to ones that could be activated with a push-button she was told there was no money available for aids and adaptations.
She explained the present lock on her door meant the handle had to be lifted before the key could be turned.
She had a personal assistant who helped her shower and dress for work each morning. The assistant locked the door when she was going out to work and she herself could unlock it when she got home by lifting the handle with her head (she is 3ft 8in tall) and turning the key in the lock with her teeth. But she found it impossible to lock it again for the night.
“I’m sleeping with the door unlocked. This has huge implications . . . I’d have no insurance if something happened. I’m there on my own and sure I’m totally vulnerable. I’m hoping against hope that something will be done about it,” she added.
Carmel Daly McDonnell of the Irish Thalidomide Survivors Society told the committee it was a constant struggle to get items she needed.
When a tyre went on her wheelchair it took five weeks for an occupational therapist to assess it. Then it took a further three weeks for the company that serviced the wheelchair to examine it, and several more weeks for the new wheel to arrive at her home in Athy because the HSE didn’t pay for it immediately.
The Irish Thalidomide Association, which represents 23 of the 27 survivors of thalidomide in the State, in a submission to the committee maintained that as the Irish State had licensed thalidomide for morning sickness when other jurisdictions like the US and France had refused to license it, the State owed them an apology for a situation which resulted in them being born with horrific disabilities.
They want fair and equitable compensation, as was recently given to survivors in the UK, and legislation introduced to ensure survivors have access to services that will allow them remain as independent as possible.
Dr Austin O’Carroll, on behalf of the association, said an earlier compensation package given to their parents was derisory and took no account of how long they would live.
He added that Minister for Health Mary Harney was awaiting a report on a possible redress scheme from the State Claims Agency before meeting survivors.
“Despite numerous requests we have had no input into this process,” he said.
The all-party committee resolved to contact the State Claims Agency and Ms Harney to insist survivors are afforded a hearing before the agency concludes its report later this month.