A POSITION for a specialist podiatrist at Kerry General Hospital, which was approved in 2012, has still not been filled over two years later, it has emerged.
The Health Service Executive has confirmed that the delay has been due to the recruitment ban imposed by the Department of Health and Children and although the need for the specialist service was identified, patients have had to do without it.
The matter was raised at the Regional Health Forum by Killarney local elections candidate Cllr John Joe Culloty who asked for an explanation for the delay in filling the post.
In a written response from Kerry General Hospital general manager, TJ O’Connor, Cllr Culloty was told that the position was “caught up in the recruitment pause” and had not been filled.
Mr O’Connor said a special case is being prepared for submission to the HSE and the hope is that the matter will be deemed a priority.
The treatment of diabetes patients in Kerry is an integrated service across the hospital and the community and the staff involved, including nurse specialists and therapists, rely on the ultimate clinical leadership of a consultant endocrinologist at Kerry General.
