Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat Senator Lombard for raising this really important issue. I will answer on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, today. I am aware that the recruitment and retention of staff across community healthcare organisation, CH04, has been very challenging recently as considerable organisational and operational changes have been implemented. As the Senator knows, this is not only in podiatry. Indeed, as part of the enhanced community care programme there are several vacancies across Cork and Kerry, including in west Cork. Cork Kerry Community Healthcare teams continue to run recruitment campaigns at a local, national and international level to fill these vacancies. The teams assure me that a robust communication campaign is being utilised to attract eligible candidates. Cork Kerry Community Healthcare has identified a number of factors which contribute to the difficulty of staffing these roles. There is a high demand for these healthcare professionals, which is outpacing the supply of trained podiatrists. The current workforce in some areas is ageing. As these staff members retire, new graduates are needed to fill their positions.

Training to become a podiatrist is an expensive and lengthy process, with only one course available at the University of Galway. The Senator has made a really valid point. I spoke earlier to Senator Clonan regarding Trinity College Dublin and pointed out that the Minister, Deputy Harris, had put in place 15 new medical positions this year through universities and colleges. Progress has been made. The Senator made the point about there being only one college in Galway where students can go. We saw recently that a course on home economics that was only available in Sligo previously is now available in Mary Immaculate College, St Patrick’s Campus, Thurles. That is extremely important because before this, everyone had to go to Sligo if they wanted to do that course. The Senator has made a very valid point about the podiatry course only being available in Galway. Students choosing a course may be unaware that podiatry is an option for study diverted by other healthcare fields such as orthopaedics and nursing.Once they enter the workforce, podiatrists may prefer to work in urban areas. This can lead to recruitment difficulties in rural areas, which is identified as a problem in several geographical areas of Cork and Kerry. Addressing these factors requires a multifaceted approach, including expanding educational programmes, just like I spoke on, providing financial incentives to encourage individuals to enter the field, and implementing policies to ensure equitable distribution of podiatry services across regions. All efforts are being undertaken within the parameters of the HSE to address the deficits, including international promotion and recruitment campaigns, increased training places, and formal engagement with academic partners. The recruitment for staff grade posts is being communicated to graduates through the national recruitment service. A bespoke campaign has been developed to recruit senior grade posts which will launch imminently.

Eligible patients continue to be seen and are being provided with ongoing care. Those who are most urgent on the waiting list are being seen first. The HSE advises that when all the active, in remission and high-risk patients are seen, and when space in the schedule becomes available, moderate risk patients will be offered scheduled appointments. There are currently 1,138 people on the podiatry waiting list in Cork, in CHO 4. The HSE reports that there are three children, aged up to 17, on the waiting list. Some 359 adults have been on the waiting list for less than 12 weeks. However, 329 adults have been waiting for more than a year. The number of patients seen within 52 weeks has improved slightly at 71% compared with the same time last year when it was just under 70%. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and the Department have been assured that priority is being given to those patients most at risk and that most of those waiting are in the lower risk categories. However, the Department has asked the HSE to accelerate the process by which those waiting over one year can be seen.