There is a serious under-provision of dermatology services in the south-east, according to Labour Party councillor Tomás Breathnach.
Cllr Breathnach said there is only one consultant dermatologist based in the Regional Hospital in Waterford who has to serve a population base of 460,000 people.
“This under-provision has led to a work load that greatly stretches the resources of the dermatological department at the Regional Hospital, with a consequent expansion of the number of people on waiting lists there. Currently this waiting list includes 3,500 people who have waited for more than two years and the waiting time at the paediatric department is six months. No improvement in services there is possible without the appointment of additional consultant dermatologists,” he added.
At last month’s meeting of Kilkenny County Council Cllr Breathnach, in a notice of motion, called on the council to write to the HSE to implement the Comhairle na nOspideal’s recommendation for the appointment of four consultants.
Cllr Breathnach stated the current situation in the south-east was deficient on many levels.
“International studies suggested the appointment of one consultant for every 100,000 of population,” he said. “Other regions within Ireland have better ratios than the south-east and come closer to the recommended norms. Two regions, the north-west and the mid-west, which have smaller populations than the south-east, recently received approval for a second dermatologist,” he pointed out.
The importance of this issue can be gauged by the fact that the incidence of skin cancers is increasing and 700 are removed annually at the Regional Hospital.
“The department there runs early detection of melanoma and a mole mapping service. There is also a multidisciplinary head and neck skin cancer clinic. The dermatology service is stretched to cover clinics in Wexford, Clonmel and Kilkenny.”
Cllr Breathnach also made the proposal at a meeting of the South East Regional Authority Wexford last Monday, that it too should write to the HSE to expedite the appointment of additional consultants together with ancillary staff and facilities for the south-east.
