When does so little HSE primary care support become 'neglect'?

In my days as a Social Worker in Child Protection, of disabled children and adults in the UK,  I learned 'neglect' of children was ['here I use the Department for Education and Skills (United Kingdom)^[7] defined neglect in 2006]:

...the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child's basic emotional needs.

what if we re-wrote this for disabled adults, or even disabled children actually,  and applied it to the Irish State's & HSE's failings to support which I contend is abuse. I say we need to call abuse abuse and 'neglect' is abuse.

Lets change the word 'child' to 'disabled person' and lets see how that fits!

1. ...the persistent failure to meet a disabled person's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the disabled person's health or development.  

think about the refusal of appropriate wheelchairs, denying independent living, denying physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychology, surgery, and all manner of therapies refused or not provided that are necessary  

[Neglect ...].  

2. Once a disabled person is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer [read also HSE ] failing to provide adequate food  

think about poverty level benefits/income leading to food deprivation,  

   3. clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment);    

think about appropriate housing/putting into a nursing home, confinement in residential care  

 4. [failing to ]protect a disabled person from physical and emotional harm or danger; 

think about nursing home abuse, abuse in own home, carer abuse
Think also of emotional harm caused by battling for HSE services

5. [failure to] ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers);

think about poor 'care-givers' , inadequate hours of support

  or  

6. [failure to] ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

again think about the refusal of appropriate wheelchairs, denying independent living, denying physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychology, surgery, and all manner of therapies refused or not provided that are necessary

think about consultants who do not 'treat' you because you are older or disabled

7. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a disabled person's basic emotional needs.

think of HSE refusal to respond, listen, or provide adequate services causing stress, depression, harm. Breakdown.

Double Standards/Hypocrisy

It never ceases to amaze me that the alleged care services benchmark of 'professionalism' is so dangerously low as to constitute 'neglect' which is 'abuse'.

It never ceases to amaze me that when we see a parent or care-giver do something that constitutes abuse/neglect we take action, but if a member of our State, or HSE do the same we allow excuses  and accept those excuses. Usually under the rationale 'not enough money'.

But isn't the 'benchmark' NOT 'we cannot afford' but rather 'do no harm'. Do not either cause harm or allow it.

why do we not call State or HSE neglect/abuse ...er...neglect and/or abuse?
why do we sit and watch it ...but do nothing?

if a parent/carer did not allow a child/or adult to use a needed wheelchair we'd call that abuse...although I have known professionals to overlook this on the grounds of 'parental choice'. As if this was an area where parents should chose. In my books its not!

yet we say its perfectly ok for the HSE not to provide a needed wheelchair to a disabled child/adult.

if a parent/carer consistently did not take a child/adult to their needed physiotherapy appointments we'd be saying 'neglect/abuse' . Though again I've witnessed professionals overlooking this because parents/carers are stressed etc. Professionals 'look the other way'.

yet we allow the HSE NOT provide physiotherapy or other therapies needed on costs grounds. No issue about neglect/abuse is raised.

Where is the real problem?

We allow abuse and neglect in Ireland. HIQA spots that on a daily basis.

We allow disabled people be neglected and abused.

We allow it in the disabled person's homes when professionals fail to act - 'feeling sorry for' the parent/carer who has so much to deal with. Their child is a 'burden' so professionals 'understand' a bit of neglect!  (HUH????)

We allow it in institutions, we allow it from our service providers.

 We just do NOT look at the lack of HSE services through the lens of abuse.

The negligent provision of services is NOT abuse (even though it causes profound harm and distress) its allowed under the clause that the HSE use frequently...a service is provided taking into regard resources.

Its not based on need, nor harm, or risk to the disabled person.   For the disabled person has no 'place' in society. the disabled person is an expensive 'defective'. We allow no services. /poor services.

we allow HSE scapegoating, blaming the disabled person for even asking. Or complaining about poor, negligent care/services.

we allow, in Ireland, abuse and neglect of disabled people from....everyone...including the HSE.

We allow it....