Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister of State's response and ask her to convey to the Minister the need to meet representatives of the Donegal Diabetes Association, as promised, as soon as possible to address their concerns. In her response the Minister of State omitted to mention that there is a 21-month waiting time for repeat referrals for adults with type 1 diabetes in County Donegal. This is a serious issue, given that it has been well documented that diabetes care will prevent long-term interventions such as amputations and long-term conditions such as loss of sight. The paediatrician endocrinologist at Sligo University Hospital has moved to the centre of excellence in Limerick. The failure to deliver a centre of excellence in counties Donegal and Sligo, as justified by the numbers involved, has resulted in the needless loss of top class professionals to another centre of excellence. I reiterate my request that the Minister meet representatives of the Donegal Diabetes Association as soon as possible to assure them that the monthly clinics for their children which offer pump therapy essential to their care will not be lost. We urgently need reassurance on the issue and that the number of specialists in Letterkenny University Hospital dealing with patients with diabetes will increase.