Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not need notes to talk about the deficiencies in paediatric diabetes services in County Galway because I have been harping on about this issue since I came into the House at the beginning of April. I am pleased that I will receive a reply from the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, today. Given that six months have passed since the launch of the new model of care for children with diabetes, I would like to know when the post at University College Hospital Galway will be filled. The need for the vacant paediatric diabetes specialist position at the hospital to be filled cannot be underestimated. Children in the region who are encountering serious delays in accessing specialist treatment have to go to Limerick or Dublin to avail of these services. The families agree with me that it is unacceptable that treatment is not being made available in Galway to children with a particular form of type 1 diabetes that requires them to use an insulin pump. It is disappointing that even though changes are being made under the new model of care launched last December, this service is still not available, six months on.

The Minister of State might not be aware that a contract has issued for a person to fill the vacancy I have mentioned. Believe it or not, the person in question will not take up the post until February or March next year. When I previously tabled a parliamentary question on this matter, in fairness to it, I received an answer from the hospital in Galway. I cannot understand why contracts are issued to people who are not in a position to take up the posts to which the contracts apply. Perhaps the Minister of State might explain the reason to me. Why do we issue contracts if we do not have the funding to pay for the posts? It seems that parents have waited for almost five years for this announcement to be made.

Four women attended my clinic in Loughrea recently about this matter. One woman, from Oranmore, has to attend Limerick University Hospital with her seven-year-old. Another, who came all the way from Headford to meet with me, travels two and a half hours to Limerick for the service. One woman is waiting, with bated breath, to get her ten-year-old into the service. Another woman from Claregalway who has a 14-year old daughter is travelling to Dublin for the service.

Their concern is that if they have an emergency, the files are not held in the Galway emergency department that they would have to attend. While they are only 40 minutes from the Galway hospital, their children’s files are not held on the campus. One woman told me that, in the case of an emergency, she would take the chance of travelling to Dublin. In this day and age, chances are not good enough.

I attended the diabetes conference in the AV room last week which was an outstanding event. However, I heard Limerick University Hospital is struggling, down to half a post. Now, the west and the mid-west are under serious pressure. Will the Minister of State explain what plan is in place to deal with this? These parents are not happy with the way things are. If I were a parent in such a position, I would not be happy either. I would think our health service is failing our youth.

With high blood sugar levels, hyperglycemia, or low blood sugar levels, hypoglycaemia, time is of the essence. However, accident and emergency services in Galway are under pressure. It is not acceptable that there is no consultant in Galway to look after children with diabetes, particularly in emergency cases.

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