Concern remains over future of paediatric diabetic clinic

The families of children being treated at the diabetic clinic at Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar remain concerned about its future, despite management saying that it is “working very hard to ensure continuity of these services”.

Last Tuesday morning the parents of the 145 children from across the region being treated at the clinic received a letter from the head of the service, Professor Michael O’Grady, warning that for the second time in three years it is facing the risk of closure due to severe staff shortages.

Urging parents to once again “use their collective voices to save your local diabetes service”, Prof O’Grady says that while clinics will continue for now, they will do so without a diabetes nurse or dietician. He also revealed that the clinic’s advanced nurse practitioner “has been tasked with a diabetes nursling workload intended for 2.6 nurses”.

Prof O’Grady told parents that the clinic was in “crisis” and was “without any nursing support”; and that he had denied himself “basic leave entitlements” over the last 18 months to keep it running.

Last Wednesday, Prof O’Grady appeared on Liveline on RTÉ Radio 1 and told presenter Joe Duffy that “patient outcomes were slipping” at the clinic.

According to a letter sent to parents on Friday afternoon, Prof O’Grady met the hospital manager Kay Slevin and clinical director Professor Desmond Toomey earlier in the day, where “the recent concerns aired in the media were fully discussed”.

The letter, which was signed by Ms Slevin and Profs Toomey and O’Grady, states that a number of “solutions and timelines” were agreed, including the redeployment of a nurse from the in-patient ward to the clinic to support the team.

The letter says that the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has launched another round of recruitment campaigns for paediatric nurses.

Deputy Robert Troy welcomed the outcome of the meeting saying that it was “a firm commitment that the service will continue”.

“It’s great to see some clarity in the situation but we need timeframes for when more progress and updates will be made,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the update came a week after the original warning, and that caused a lot of anxiety among parents and service users.

“We need a better mechanism for internal disputes at the hospital rather than there being a need to go on Liveline to solve problems.”

Patient view

Janice Reel, a parent whose 11-year-old son uses the service, said the clinic was “under severe pressure” when she visited it last week.

“They have gone from a five-member team to a one-member team,” she said. “I am worried for my son’s care now, something serious could happen if he is not monitored properly and if his blood sugar ratios go too high or too low.

“Managing a child with diabetes takes 24-hour care, it’s a huge, life-changing condition and we need to check ketones every half hour and insulin every two hours.”

Ms Reel said the blame for last week’s staffing crisis lies hospital management “have numbers, figures, budgets to figure out, and they forget about the rest of us who rely on that service heavily – and they could have solved it straight away with the stroke of a pen if they wanted to.”

Deputy Sorca Clarke said: “The minister and department must now take the necessary measures to ensure that the clinic and the vital services it offers are not forced to close – this must be done without delay,” she said.

“The minister must address this crisis immediately and explain to the parents of the children who are sick with worry what plans he has in place to address the staffing crisis impacting the paediatric diabetes service.

“There is no time to waste – parents and children of Westmeath and the midlands deserve better.”