Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I wish to clarify this. Having spoken to staff and families, they are clear that at this point, unless the situation has changed in the last day or two, a dietician is required for the adult services to operate fully. A senior dietician is needed to provide instant pump services. That is the issue I want clarified. The HSE can often explain matters in medical terms; we are lay people. That is the missing piece here.

The importance of providing that proper treatment to people with diabetes cannot be overstated. It is for their health. All medical practitioners, nurses and GPs, will say it is really important that it is maintained and monitored properly and that they have the proper care. Failure to look after it properly leads to a whole range of other health problems down the line. We have all seen that in the community with people who are diabetic and do not get proper treatment. While cost should not be the biggest consideration, it can lead to extra cost on the health system because if prevention is not addressed, one will end up with greater health problems, higher costs and sicker patients, which is the real issue here.

We are talking about this one position. We are not talking about millions of euro. A relatively small amount of money is needed to facilitate the full service. I appeal to the Minister of State to put that in place. There are huge demands on the health system currently and we all understand that. However, while that is happening, I am sure the Minister of State would admit that there are many gaps in our health services at the front line. HSE management might talk around it and the Minister of State could be as confused as ever when finished talking to them. I do not mean that in a derogatory way. The public needs access to good local services. Will the Minister of State clarify exactly what she said in relation to the dietician for that clinic?

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