Neurology report urges trebling of consultant numbers

The number of consultant neurologists in the State should be doubled in the short term and trebled in the longer term, a new …

The number of consultant neurologists in the State should be doubled in the short term and trebled in the longer term, a new Comhairle na nOspidéal report has recommended.

A shortage of specialists has meant people with neurological conditions such as epilepsy, stroke, migraine, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and dementia, have to wait up to two years for an appointment to see a consultant neurologist at present.

There are half a million people in the State with neurological conditions.

The report by the statutory body, whose main function is to regulate hospital consultant appointments, follows a review of neurology and neurophysiology services. It also recommends that neurology units, which at present are located in Dublin, Cork and Galway only, should also be established in Waterford, Limerick and Sligo.

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Furthermore, it recommends that Beaumont Hospital provide neurology services through outpatient clinics and inpatient consultations at hospitals in Drogheda, Cavan and Tullamore.

It also recommends the appointment of a second consultant paediatric neurologist in Cork and that neurophysiologist, who record electrical activity of the central and peripheral nervous system, provide services in Cork, Dublin and Galway.

Comhairle, during its review, received submissions from the Irish Consultant Neurologists' Association and the Neurological Alliance of Ireland.

"The key point of all submissions presented to the committee was the need for more consultants to deal with the large volume of patients requiring neurological diagnosis and treatment. Long waiting times for appointments and large waiting lists were a feature of the submissions from the service providers," the report said.

At present there are 14 consultant neurologists in the State or one per 280,000 of the population. Comhairle identified a ratio of one per 100,000 as "a reasonable target", which would mean the number rising to 39.

Comhairle said it hoped the recommendations would be implemented as soon as possible and that the necessary resources would be provided.

A number of the recommendations, including improved consultant staffing and the extension of services to the midlands, north east, mid west and south east, were also made by Comhairle in 1991 but were never implemented.

The Irish Consultant Neurologists' Association said it was delighted that the report had recognised deficiencies in the services and urged the Minister for Health to implement its findings.