Limerick gathering over lack of diabetes services

Campaigners from Tipperary, Limerick and Clare gathered outside University Hospital Limerick on November 14, World Diabetes Day, to highlight an ongoing lack of services for people with the condition.

UL Hospitals Group is the only group in the country without a DAFNE (Dose Adjustment of insulin for Normal Eating), a specialist education programme for people with insulin-dependent diabetes. According to the Mid West Diabetes Advocacy Group, most of the other hospitals groups have between two and six DAFNE centres.

Clonmore man and advocacy group supporter John Donegan attended the gathering on World Diabetes Day. He is one of an estimated 700 people with Type 1 diabetes living in north Tipperary, most of whom attend Limerick for their care.

But they cannot begin insulin pump treatment at the Limerick hospital, which also lacks the dieticians needed for supporting diabetics over how the food they eat affects their blood glucose levels, and how to adjust their insulin intake to meet daily needs. John, who went to Dublin and paid for private treatment in switching to insulin pump, publicly highlighted the lack of services in 2019. Two years on and little has changed, he said.

John turned to Tipperary TD Michael Lowry, who recently raised the matter with the Minister for Health in the Dáil. A written response from ULHG stated:

“Developing services around insulin pump therapy and structured education in particular require us to fill further specialist posts, including nursing and dietician posts. While there is a specialist dietician working with our paediatric diabetes patients, there is currently no specialist dietician in post for adults with Type 1 Diabetes. Patients are seen by a ward dietician as in-patients but there is no specialist dietetic care or outpatient appointments for adult diabetes patients in UHL.

“Currently, the adult service in UHL is unable to commence adult patients on insulin pumps due to service demands. We do, however, accept patients established on pumps from elsewhere and these patients are managed under the care of a consultant endocrinologist.”

The statement concluded that UL Hospitals Group has received funding to recruit three additional dietetic posts for the treatment of adult diabetes. These posts include two senior dieticians and one staff grade dietician. The recruitment process is at an advanced stage. Recruitment is also ongoing for the staff grade dietician. “We will be be able to provide a more precise timeline when we expect successful candidates to take up posts in the near future.”