{"id":508196,"date":"2026-05-29T06:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T06:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/508196\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T06:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T06:13:08","slug":"significant-disparities-in-accessing-specialised-diabetes-resources-report-finds-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/508196\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Significant disparities\u2019 in accessing specialised diabetes resources, report finds \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are \u201csignificant disparities\u201d in access to specialised diabetes<\/a> resources, including technology and young adult services, regional service consistency, and workforce capacity, a Government report has found.<\/p>\n

Diabetes affects more than 6 per cent of the Irish population and is increasing in prevalence due to an ageing population, increasingly sedentary lifestyles and growing obesity rates.<\/p>\n

The Department of Health<\/a> will today publish Ireland\u2019s first national strategy for diabetes, which outlines recommendations for action.<\/p>\n

The strategy, which also reviewed current service provision, acknowledged \u201csignificant staffing gaps at local, regional and national levels, across all disciplines of the core diabetes team\u201d.<\/p>\n

For example, the report notes that in the HSE<\/a> West and North West acute hospitals, there are three endocrinologist whole-time equivalents dedicated to diabetes, compared to a target of 15.5.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Why has the incidence of type 1 diabetes begun to increase again in Ireland?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people living with diabetes lack timely access to multidisciplinary teams, with a particularly severe gap in access (as a result of staffing deficits) to psychosocial support services, which are essential for effective self-management,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

According to the report, there would be challenges in achieving the \u201cambitious staffing targets\u201d set out in the strategy for a number of reasons, including graduate pipeline, recruitment and retention challenges, budget, and \u201cregional allocation of resources\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlexibility in reaching these ambitious staffing targets will likely be required at a regional and local level in the face of these, and other, challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strategy makes a number of recommendations to improve accessibility of diabetes care in Ireland, including strengthening prevention and early detection, addressing staffing gaps and improving workforce planning, as well as focusing on high-need groups.<\/p>\n

Following publication of the report, the HSE will finalise an implementation plan to ensure the recommendations are followed through at national level and through the health regions.<\/p>\n

The review also identified the need for enhanced data collection through electronic health records and a National Diabetes Registry.<\/p>\n

Speaking in advance of the report\u2019s publication, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill<\/a> said there has been \u201csubstantial advances\u201d in care in recent years.<\/p>\n

However, she said the strategy aims to \u201censure that people living with all types of diabetes, regardless of their location, have equitable access to a consistently high standard of care\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dr Colm Henry<\/a>, HSE chief clinical officer, said diabetes represents a \u201cmajor challenge\u201d for those living with the condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnsuring effective and consistent care across the country will make a significant difference in their lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will also help to ensure that care is delivered at the most effective level possible, thereby also ensuring the most effective use of the resources of the health system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prof Hilary Hoey, chair of Diabetes Ireland, said implementation of these recommendations \u201cwill make a difference in the lives of people living with diabetes in this country\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are \u201csignificant disparities\u201d in access to specialised diabetes resources, including technology and young adult services, regional service…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[78],"tags":[118227,3496,2675,18,135,60,19,17,5002],"class_list":["post-508196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-colm-henry","tag-department-of-health","tag-diabetes","tag-eire","tag-health","tag-hse","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-jennifer-carroll-macneill"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116656393955025457","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}