Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)

I raise the dermatology service in Sligo University Hospital. I was written to by Dr. Dermot McKenna, a consultant dermatologist. He informed us he was taking leave until the middle of July and no locum had been put in place to replace him during the period. It is a service that is under extreme stress. There are over 3,000 patients in the Sligo area waiting for new dermatological appointments. The service in Letterkenny has been closed down and 1,100 from there are being directed to Sligo. The GPs' society in the area also wrote to us to say its members were already under much stress for the past 20 years and that from their perspective the situation is very hard to fathom. They are simply asking for an adequate, workable dermatology service to be put in place for urgent cases and for routine cases to be seen in a timely fashion in the area. It is a serious problem.

I have raised how the pain management department in Sligo is also under pressure and we have had issues with other services. We have no hip or knee operations happening at the hospital.

See this speech in context