Kerry diabetic makes 100-mile round trip for care
At the moment, the 62-year-old Kerry man can pay €90 a month to have his toenails cut twice, or he can undertake a 100-mile round trip to have his toenails cut free of charge.
To avail of the free service, Dan, from Rathmore, Co Kerry, must travel to Cork University Hospital, which has one of just two hospital-based diabetes-focused public podiatrists in the country. There is no public service in Kerry and Ireland has the lowest manpower in podiatry for diabetes in Europe.
Diabetes can cause nerve damage and impair blood circulation, reducing the ability to heal. A minor cut can lead to gangrene and amputation. Dan first lost one toe, then four more, before having his lower leg amputated three years ago.
His brother, Dermot, also a diabetic, had two toes amputated recently.
A HSE South spokesperson said they were “currently examining options in relation to the development of a podiatry service in the county which will be dependent on resources available”.
Dr Diarmuid Quinlan, a GP in Glanmire, Co Cork, who is a member of the HSE’s diabetes service implementation group, said the shortage of podiatrists and the absence of a national retinopathy screening service was “madness”.
A HSE spokesperson said funding has been provided to begin a diabetic retinopathy screening programme in the HSE West this year.
The Diabetes Federation of Ireland health promotion research manager, Dr Anna Clarke, who compiled a report on appropriate diabetes care for the HSE in 2002, said its recommendations had not been implemented.
Pauline Lynch, regional development officer for the federation in the south, has asked the public to attend a meeting at the Meadowlands Hotel, Tralee, on Monday at 8.30pm, to support the call for a public podiatry service in Kerry.
- For more information, contact the Diabetes Federation of Ireland at 021 4274229, Monday to Thursday, 9.30am- 2pm.
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