Adequate resourcing of multidisciplinary diabetes teams is essential to provide a quality level of diabetes care and maintain the health and well-being of people living with diabetes.

Therefore, it was disappointing to recently see Professor Michael O’Grady, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist writing to all of the 145 families who attend his paediatric diabetes service in Mullingar Hospital about the shortage of nursing staff in his team and the impact it is having on the service and the possibility of having to close the service. Diabetes Ireland is currently working with Professor O’Grady to try and resolve the situation and we have written to the Minister for Health and HSE Senior Management asking them to directly intervene in the situation by releasing the nurse recruited by Professor O’Grady to begin work in his service.

Similarly, people with Type 1 diabetes and their families in Donegal are also extremely concerned about the level of diabetes services provided in Letterkenny University Hospital and are becoming very frustrated with the lack of urgency in addressing the various staffing shortages there and the local branch of Diabetes Ireland is actively seeking support from the Minister for Health and HSE Senior Management to rectify the situation.

In both instances, there are simple answers to help alleviate each of these situations but local HSE Management have failed to address them in a way that would support the short term staffing needs of the services while aspiring to meet the longer term staffing requirements needed to provide a high quality and safe service for the hundreds of patients attending these services. We are currently asking for an emergency plan put in place by local HSE Management to prevent the worsening of health outcomes of people with diabetes attending both diabetes services in Mullingar and Letterkenny.

In Mullingar Hospital, the releasing of the nurse who successfully applied for the vacant post on Professor O’Grady’s team from within the hospital, will address the current situation there. In Letterkenny, our suggestion to have consultant endocrinologists from Galway provide some temporary outreach OPD satellite clinics for adults with Type 1 diabetes will help alleviate the situation there until the vacant posts are filled.

Right now, the lack of staff is impacting services in Mullingar and Letterkenny, but we know other diabetes services nationwide are also experiencing similar staffing shortages and we need a more long term solution to ensure that all diabetes clinics are fully resourced in order to provide high quality services to everyone with diabetes nationwide.

For the past couple of years, through the Cross Parliamentary Group on Diabetes and our ongoing advocacy work, we have been engaging with TDs and the various political parties to support the setting up of a Taskforce made up of the various stakeholders to develop a National Diabetes Strategy to better plan for delivery of diabetes care services across the country and improve quality of life, health and wellbeing of more than 300,000 people living with diabetes in Ireland. Better resourcing and long term planning needs to be agreed and funded to ensure that issues such as those in Mullingar and Letterkenny can be avoided in the future.

Your Help is Needed

Mullingar Hospital

If you are one of the families affected by the potential closure of the paediatric diabetes services in Mullingar Hospital, contact your local TDs today asking them to make representation on your behalf to the Minister for Health asking him to address the current staffing situation in Mullingar Hospital situation.

• Parliamentary Question: To ask the Minister for Health if he is aware of the content of the letter issued by the Paediatric Endocrinologist based in the Regional Hospital Mullingar on 2 April 2024 to the families of the 145 children and adolescents who attend the service; if he will intervene to release the recruited nurse to join the paediatric diabetes clinic team in the hospital to prevent the closure of the service and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Letterkenny Hospital

If you are concerned about diabetes services in Letterkenny University Hospital,  contact your local TDs today asking them to make representation on your behalf to the Minister for Health asking him to address the current staffing situation in Letterkenny University Hospital.

• Parliamentary Question: To ask the Minister for Health if he is aware of the current staff shortages and the long waiting times for review appointments being experienced by people with Type 1 diabetes attending the adult diabetes service in Letterkenny University Hospital; will he sanction a Consultant Endocrinologist(s) from Galway University Hospital to provide some temporary outreach OPD satellite clinics for adult patients with Type 1 diabetes to alleviate the staffing situation in Letterkenny University Hospital until the vacant posts are permanently filled; and if will make a statement on the matter.

National Diabetes Service

We ask every person with diabetes who want to see a fully resourced national diabetes care service to contact their local TDs with the following parliamentary questions:

• To ask the Minister for Health when will he set up a Diabetes Taskforce of relevant stakeholders to develop a National Diabetes Strategy that will ensure the provision of optimum care to every person with diabetes and if he will make a statement on the matter.

• To ask the Minister for Health to provide the recommended staffing levels of multidisciplinary diabetes team members (consultant endocrinologists, advanced nurse practitioners, diabetes nurse specialists, dietitians, psychologists) per 100 patients for (i) a paediatric diabetes clinic, (ii) an adult diabetes clinic; provide information on how many hospital-based diabetes clinics meet these standards; which hospital-based diabetes clinics meet these standards and if will make a statement on the matter.

There is a long way to go before we see a fully resourced diabetes service that meets the needs of every person living with diabetes in Ireland, and we need to be a strong collective voice if we are to achieve this  goal. Your support in helping to achieve this goal is very much appreciated.

See the Diabetes Ireland Pre-Budget Submission 2024 to read more why we need a National Diabetes Strategy in Ireland.