Two-year wait for diabetes assessment

PATIENTS diagnosed with diabetes by their GP are having to wait about two years for their first assessment by a hospital consultant and almost a year for their second visit.

“Hospital clinics are collapsing under the strain and primary care cannot cope because the diabetes problem is so huge,” said consultant endocrinologist Professor John Nolan.

Prof Nolan is one of a number of diabetes specialists calling for a radical overhaul of the State’s short-sighted, costly and inefficient system of diabetes care. Life-threatening complications of diabetes, such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and stroke are costing taxpayers about €600 million annually.