Arthritis sufferers face seven-year wait for consultant

Arthritis sufferers in the west of Ireland are waiting up to seven years to see a consultant.

Patients have been left facing the consequences of the condition due to the chronic shortage of rheumatology specialists nationwide.

Almost half a million men and women and more than 5,000 children in Ireland have arthritis, but the country still has the lowest rate of rheumatologists per head of population in the EU, with up to 60 patients per clinic.

Associated conditions, which increase the longer treatment is delayed, include deformity, disability, heart disease and cancer.

The average waiting time for an initial appointment with a rheumatologist is four years, with sufferers in the Galway region waiting seven years. Patients at Dublin’s St James's Hospital, which covers the midlands, are waiting two years.

The figures were given at the Oireachtas Health Committee, where the under-resourcing of rheumatology services in the state was highlighted.

“These consequences are preventable if patients are treated early,” said Dr Gaye Cunnane, consultant rheumatologist at St James's.

“It makes no sense not to see patients within a few weeks of reporting symptoms.”

She said trained specialists were waiting to take up positions, but the posts needed to be funded by the HSE.

The delegation from Arthritis Ireland also found the illness was costing the economy €1.6bn, while ground-breaking drugs were getting sufferers back in the workplace. These drugs, which cost €12,000 a year per patient, have revolutionised sufferers’ quality of life.

Mary Healy, from Swinford, in Co Mayo, was diagnosed with arthritis more than 30 years ago and travels to the Galway site for treatment.

Her finger joints were left visibly damaged by the condition, and over the years she had also undergone two knee replacements, surgery on her toes and had her foot remodelled.

“I waited 18 months for an appointment and by the time I was seen the damage in my hands had already been done,” Mrs Healy, 57, said.

“In Galway, 729 patients are waiting for a first appointment. Some of them have been waiting since 1989. It’s immoral. It’s a public scandal. Arthritis isn’t taken seriously enough, yet it is responsible for more time taken off work than any other condition.

“Early intervention is paramount to eliminate and reduce long term damage.”

Arthritis Ireland chief executive officer John Church added: “The irony is that by continuing to ignore the under-resourcing of rheumatology services in Ireland, the country is facing an even bigger bill in the long-term.”