Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I am informed a full-time clinical nurse specialist will start on 12 November. At present, a clinical nurse specialist is acting on a temporary basis and that post has been advertised for permanent appointment. That will mean a total of two nurse specialists.

With my support, the HSE recently advertised for 100 new consultants to be appointed to hospitals during the coming months. These appointments will be based on innovation. When I refer to innovation, I mean the hospitals which are performing well will get more consultants because it is clear we will get more from consultants who are applied to an innovative environment than if we appoint them in a traditional way. I do not know if Cork University Hospital will apply for consultants under that initiative but there is much interest from other hospitals.

On a more general point, adult and child diabetes should be managed in the community and treatment should not be hospital based, which is not best practice in other parts of the world. We are moving to ensure we manage illnesses such as diabetes on a community basis and the staff involved should work in a community setting. One of the major discussions we are having in the context of renegotiating the contract of employment with general practitioners is how what are essentially nurse-led clinics will manage type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which have very serious consequences for patients and the health care system.

Type 1 diabetes can take 20 years off one's life if it is not managed and type 2 diabetes can take ten years off one's life. I met a lady at a recent event who has had her diabetes managed for 67 years. She was perfectly healthy because it was well managed and she had not had many of the complications which, unfortunately, are suffered by other patients.

Diabetes is a major priority and challenge for the health service. I am conscious of the deficiencies that exist in Cork but I hope the appointment of the new nurse specialist will greatly alleviate some of the pressures parents are experiencing. In particular I hope parents can have their child assessed on a frequent basis rather than as an emergency case, which is what happens when there is not an appropriate service.

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