Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Diabetes will be one of the major challenges facing our health service in the years ahead.The Minister for Health met representatives of the Donegal Diabetes Association in Letterkenny General Hospital in December and learned about the serious crisis in the provision of care for adults with type 1 diabetes in the county. They have to wait 21 months for follow-up appointments. The provision of such care prevents very serious conditions from occurring down the line. Not only has the crisis not been addressed, it has got worse. We have learned this morning that the paediatric endocrinologist in Sligo who is responsible for providing the pump therapy clinics in Letterkenny for children in County Donegal will move to a new position and not be replaced. Children in County Donegal who require pump therapy will be forced to travel to Sligo and perhaps even to Dublin for treatment. This is a really serious matter. There has been a lot of anger in County Donegal for years because we believe the support provided for those with diabetes is well below what has been agreed in the national diabetes programme. I urge the Leader to raise this matter with the Minister for urgent attention in order that he will be aware not only of how the issue affects adults but also how the problem has got worse in the sense that children in the county will lose a vital service. Will the Leader ask the Minister to respond to me urgently.