A GROUP of Clare parents have vowed to continue to fight to improve services for children with diabetes.
It is estimated that 3,500 children have type one diabetes; almost 100 of who are from Clare. Those children are referred to Galway or Limerick for treatment, while several are sent to Dublin.
Last Wednesday, a national campaign was launched in an effort to improve support for children with diabetes and the Clare branch is playing an integral role in this.
Secretary of the Diabetes ac- tion Advocacy Campaign in Clare, Gráinne Flynn is involved in a campaign to improve services for people with disabilities.
“Type one is the type of diabetes that just comes out of nowhere. It is the less common type. It is a grass roots campaign in that it encourages people in the community to encourage others to get involved,” said Ms Flynn.
She said the campaign is aimed at ensuring more resources are made available to assist children with type one diabetes.
“In Clare, children with type one diabetes are either referred to the diabetes pediatric centre in Limerick or Galway and because the services for children with diabetes in Ireland are generally very poor, the services in Galway and Limerick are under resourced,” she said.
“Parents need a more complete service,” she added.
“When parents start to demand better care they are referred to the three centres in Dublin and they can’t cope with the added pressures. It’s a vicious circle,” she said.
“We are looking for the establishment of eight diabetes paediatric networks to deliver care in Ireland. That would mean that the centres in Limerick and Galway are properly staffed and resourced. They are not at the moment,” she added.
“Children and adolescents with diabetes should attend a hospital four to five times a year to monitor their diabetes. Because some children are referred to Dublin, they have to take a full day off school to attend their appointments,” she said.
“The fact that these centres are not fully resourced means that 50 per cent of the children with type one diabetes will develop long-term complications of diabetes like kidney disease, eye damage or nerve damage,” she added.