Skin condition patient on waiting list for eight years

A PATIENT with a skin condition remains on a waiting list more than eight years after a GP referral for specialist treatment to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.

According to the Health Service Executive (HSE), the patient in question is considered non-urgent and has been asked if they wish to remain on the waiting list until at least 2010.

This is when the consultant dermatologist staffing complement is expected to double from one to two and when the HSE expects to be in a position to offer the patient a chance to be seen and treated.

Currently, one dermatologist, Dr Bart Ramsey, provides a public service to the entire mid-west and concentrates exclusively on urgent referrals – meaning cancer cases and lesions only. This has been the case for “a period of time”, according to the HSE.

The appointment of a second consultant dermatologist is expected in 2010, the HSE said. This should end what will by then be a nine-year wait.

Labour Party TD for Limerick East Jan O’Sullivan said she was “very much aware” of the difficulties in the mid-west in accessing a dermatology service.

She said she believed there were many more patients with skin conditions waiting years for treatment and were not on the waiting list.

“The truth is the waiting list is effectively closed down, with the exception of urgent cases. It is a deplorable situation we find ourselves in,” she said.

She said staffing of dermatology services was no better in the south-east and she has tabled a parliamentary question asking Health Minister Mary Harney what her plans are for increasing the number of dermatologists around the country.

The Irish Association of Dermatologists has said that inadequate numbers of consultant dermatologist posts – approximately 35 – has resulted in long waiting lists for new patient appointments.