Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will raise the issue of IBD services in Cork with the Taoiseach. Over the last few weeks, I have been liaising with the HSE on this issue but it is appropriate to raise it again here today. The IBD service at CUH is led by three consultant gastroenterologists and two academic consultants. One clinical nurse specialist provides support for more than 2,000 patients with IBD who attend that clinic. In 2023, the IBD service was supported by two clinical nurse specialists but, as one is on maternity leave, the responsibility and workload of three clinical nurse specialists and two advanced nurse practitioners have fallen on one clinical nurse specialist. In a reply to a parliamentary question, the chief executive of the HSE has stated that this decreased staffing is a direct result of the recruitment moratorium and that a risk report has been filed in this regard. I understand the need for the moratorium but, when an issue like this is affecting 2,000 people, there surely has to be some flexibility.

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