Diabetes epidemic - Too late for ignorance

WITH diabetes on the increase, it is alarming to learn that people are losing limbs needlessly due to lack of investment in basic services.

This appalling situation provides further proof, if it were required, of the hapless state of Ireland’s ailing health service.

The loss of a limb is a most traumatic experience and diabetes is the most common reason adults have limbs amputated, with levels here higher than most European countries. What is worrying is that many people with the condition are unnecessarily losing limbs and dying from preventable complications.

According to one specialist, for instance, the number of foot amputations could be greatly reduced if basic clinical services were available.

Lack of political will and ignorance of the sheer scale of the problem are blamed for the inadequacy of treatment available for diabetes sufferers. There is a clear need for the Health Service Executive to implement a national programme immediately if a world-class service is to be created here.