Health bosses ‘failing children with diabetes’

ANGRY parents accused health officials yesterday of failing children with diabetes in Munster.

Some are forced to travel to Dublin to get certain treatments because of a lack of funding for specialist staff and care options at the paediatric diabetes unit at Munster’s largest hospital.

Up to 40 members of the Parents Support Group of the Irish Diabetes Federation protested outside Cork University Hospital (CUH) yesterday to highlight what they said was a scandalous situation.

And despite assurances from the Health Service Executive (HSE) that improvements are planned, the parents called for a long-term solution to guarantee better services.

Dan Philpott has taken his three-year-old son to Temple Street Hospital in Dublin because insulin pump treatment isn’t available at CUH.

“That care option is not available in Cork at the moment because of a lack of resources,” Mr Philpott said.

“We requested that he be referred to Temple Street. We travel up there every three months for the treatment. If we were living in Dublin it would be done in one day.

“But because we live so far from the hospital, we have to relocate to Dublin for a week.”

He praised staff at CUH’s diabetes unit but he criticised HSE officials and politicians who have failed to deliver improvements.

Charlotte Pearson, Cork Parents’ Support Group chairperson, called on the HSE to fund a range of vital improvements in the unit.

In 2002, 120 children aged between one and 16 with type 1 diabetes attended the clinic. This figure has risen to 215 this year with no increase in staffing levels, Ms Pearson said.

She called for the immediate appointment of another consultant paediatric endocrinologist, a specialist consultant with an interest in diabetes, a paediatric diabetes nurse specialist, a specialist paediatric dietician, two social workers and two psychologists to help existing staff cope.

The HSE said it is considering a dedicated multi-disciplinary unit at CUH with an assessment, outpatient department and a day-care facility for children.

“A clinical nurse specialist has been in place in an acting capacity at CUH since last March and a permanent appointment is awaiting garda clearance before taking up the post,” a spokesperson said.

“From next Monday further clinical nurse specialist support will come on stream.”

It will help cut response time to phone calls from parents looking for advice on insulin dose changes and improve access to education sessions, she said.

But Mr Philpott and Ms Pearson said they have heard these details before.

“This is a systematic problem based on the absence of resources and the absence of the HSE putting in a sustainable solution,” Mr Philpott said.

The parents’ support group plans to meet next week to discuss the next stage of their campaign.