Arthritis sufferers face four year wait for help, group says

ARTHRITIS sufferers are waiting up to four years for treatment in some parts of the country because the Health Service Executive (HSE) has failed to employ much needed specialists to treat the condition, according to the support group, Arthritis Ireland.

The average wait for services is one year, and patients in the west are being forced to wait four, the group said.

It is calling for funding for 16 new rheumatologists in this year’s budget.

“Currently we have the lowest rate of specialists in Europe. The World Health Organisation recommends one rheumatologist for every 80,000 of the population. In Ireland we have one for every 400,000. Just a six month delay can lead to substantial damage to your bones and joints,” Chief Executive of the organisation John Church said.

One-in-six Irish people, suffer from some form of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis, the most severe form, affects 40,000 people.

At the launch of National Arthritis Week, which runs until October 15, Mr Church said: “The cost of not looking after those with arthritis is greater than the cost of looking after them. The economic impact of the disease is estimated to be about €1.6 billion.

“A third of all GP visits in this country relate to arthritis. Seven out of 10 people with rheumatoid arthritis leave their work because of the condition.”

The HSE set up a working group to examine the issue in May and will publish its recommendations soon.

Mary Conway from Castlebar in County Mayo was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1999, at the age of 46. “I was told I had to wait two years to see a specialist. In my case it was progressing at an alarming rate so I could not afford to wait that long, so in the end I just had to go private,” she said.