Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht an deis labhairt ar an cheist thromchúiseach seo agus an géarchéim atá ann ó thaobh seirbhísí diaibéitis san iarthuaisceart a phlé sa Teach inniu.

I welcome the opportunity to refer to the ongoing crisis in diabetes care services in the north west. I use the term "crisis" in its truest sense because that is exactly what it is. The latest HSE data for patient care and waiting times in Letterkenny University Hospital show the true extent of the crisis. For example, adults with type 1 diabetes continue to wait for up to one year for routine appointments and up to two years for follow-up appointments, despite the HSE guidelines recommending that patients with type 1 diabetes be reviewed every six months. We all know that in comparison with the general population patients with diabetes are at a significantly greater risk of developing one or more severe health complications owing to their condition. Without a doubt, these figures make for harrowing reading. Cardiovascular disease, reduced kidney function, uropathy, eye damage and amputation are some of the many complications associated with the condition if symptoms go unchecked. Given that all of this is avoidable with appropriate and timely medical intervention, it is reasonable to assume that given the delays, patients in counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo face a heightened risk of suffering from such complications.

Serious resource and staffing problems continue to go unsolved throughout diabetes services in the north west, including in paediatric, transitional and adult diabetes care services. With reference to adult care services, a second additional full-time endocrinologist post remains unfilled, despite the fact that it has been sanctioned by the HSE advisory committee. Similarly, parents and advocacy groups have expressed disappointment that the vacant consultant post at Sligo University Hospital is unlikely to be filled by a consultant paediatric endocrinologist to complement the diabetes services provided in the hospital. At Letterkenny University Hospital, while long overdue efforts are being made to recruit additional dieticians, there is still no sign of a dedicated post for diabetes care. I take no pleasure in reminding the House that despite many commitments made by the Government and the Minister for Health, the Saolta University Health Care Group remains without a centre of excellence for diabetes care.

Why are patients in the north west less entitled to these services than their counterparts in the rest of the State? This is postcode healthcare. The people of County Donegal and the north-west region are supposed to feel grateful for the few services offered to them and happy with their lot, but they are not. They are not happy and are standing up and demanding that the Government take action and provide the centre of excellence, the additional full-time endocrinologist, the second post in Sligo University Hospital and that it ensure there will be investment in pump therapy and other areas of diabetes services required for patients in the north west.

This is about saving lives and improved healthcare outcomes. It is also about saving financial resources for the HSE. What action does the Minister propose to take? I demand that the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, respond positively to the lack of diabetes services in my home county which has result in people waiting for two years for a follow-up appointment. It is unacceptable that they have to wait that length of time for an appointment.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State has informed me of what is happening, and some of that information when it is put together in two pages might sound grand, but let me inform him about what is happening on the ground. There is a one year wait for an initial appointment and a two year wait for a recall appointment. There is a reason why the HSE says that a diabetic patient should be recalled every six months. In a four year period this would be eight check-ups if one lives in Cork, Dublin, Waterford, Louth, Monaghan or any of the other counties outside of Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. If one happens to live in our region of the country, in the same period a patient only gets two check-ups, if he or she is lucky. The list is getting worse and the length of time is getting worse. We all know. We can talk about health budgets and the amount of money that is spent on treating conditions resulting from diabetes, which is substantial. We know that prevention is better than cure. There are serious consequences, which I outlined to the Minister of State, and the Government is allowing patients to have worse health outcomes because they happen to be born in or live in Donegal and the Government has not sanctioned the necessary personnel in time to deal with their care.

There is nothing in what the Minister of State has said that gives me any type of reassurance that the people I deal with daily in Donegal will get recall appointments anytime sooner than two years. The second endocrinologist post was not even mentioned. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, spoke of a position in Galway but the vacant position in Sligo was not mentioned in the Minister of State's response, nor was the centre of excellence, which the entire Saolta region does not have. When will the people of the north west, the people in my region, be respected by the HSE in providing these services? Imagine if this was my son, my daughter or my wife but because a person lives in a certain part of the State they would get worse care and, therefore, worse outcomes in managing a disease that is manageable if the personnel are available.

The advocacy groups met with the Minister. I was there along with other Deputies. We heard all the promises, all the good words and so on. It has not, however, materialised. We need action now. I ask that the Minister of State takes it away and speaks with his officials in the HSE, to ramp up the pressure so we can have real delivery and so we can see the waiting times that are currently going in the wrong direction reversed and put back in the right direction.