Lack of consultants hurts neurology patients

PATIENTS with brain disorders are still waiting up to two years to see a consultant despite a promise three years ago by the Health Minister to address the shortage of neurologists.

There are just 13 consultants working in the State with an estimated 500,000 people affected by neurological problems, including motor neurone disease, dementia, stroke and epilepsy.

Dr Orla Hardiman, a consultant neurologist at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital, said the ratio was appalling.