After a referral is made

This section gives a summary of the referral process in our Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) in Community Health Organisation 7 (CHO7). 

When a referral is received by a CDNT

A team of clinicians within the CDNT will look at all the information you’ve provided. They will use this information to decide on the most appropriate service for your child. 

Once that decision has been made, a member of the CDNT’s admin team will then contact you and let you know what will happen next. It will be one of the following scenarios:

  • If you child has not been accepted onto the CDNT

    • If the support your child needs can be provided by Primary Care, you'll be notified of this, and the CDNT will forward your child's referral directly to their local Primary Care Services Team.

    • If your child requires the support of CAMHS or CAMHS-ID, you will be notified of this, and advised to go to your GP to make a referral to them. 

  • If your child has been accepted onto the CDNT
    • The team will let you know the next steps and give you an idea of when you can expect to receive services.

For further information on the referral decision process, see Section 3 of the National Policy on Access to Services for Children and Young People with Disabilities and Developmental Delay. It explains the framework developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which is used by clinicians in their review of the information you have provided.  This policy also includes the “Form to assist with decisions on referrals” (Appendix 8.2) and an “Explanatory Guide” (Appendix 8.3) which the team of clinicians use to make the decision on the best service for your child.

Waiting for services

The length of time your child will wait for services varies in each CDNT. It depends on the type of support your child needs and the demand for services in your area.

There is a National Policy on Prioritisation of Referrals to Children’s Disability Network Teams. It outlines the situations where a child’s needs will be identified as requiring immediate priority. These include:

  • Equipment or pressure breakdown
  • Family in crisis
  • Feeding Eating Drinking and Swallowing issues (if this service is available from the team)
  • Critical rehabilitation required post discharge from an acute hospital service following acquired brain or spinal injury
  • Presentations and behaviours which may lead to:
    • Significant risk to health or safety of the child
    • Significant risk to health or safety of others
  • School placement breakdown

Waiting lists for Dublin South, Kildare and West Wicklow (CHO7) CDNT services

There are waiting lists for each of our CDNTs in CHO7. We sincerely apologise for the upset and frustration this causes. 

How do I find out where my child is on the waiting list for their CDNT?

Contact your CDNT and they will confirm to you that the referral is in place. They may be able to give a broad estimate of when your child will be seen and advise you on what services you can access while you are on the waiting list. 

Support and Resources Section

Please see Supports and Resources section for support and information you can access if you are on one of our waiting lists.