Beaumont Hospital has denied a claim it is no longer making appointments for new patients with diabetes.
A report in the current edition of the Irish Medical Newsclaims the hospital is about to tell the ERHA it has to close its waiting list for new diabetes patients because of a 14-month long waiting list.
A spokesman for Beaumont told ireland.comtoday management had not agreed to the closing of any waiting list at the hospital.
The proposal was apparently made at a meeting last June by consultant endocrinologist Dr Chris Thompson, but the spokesman said no decision regarding restriction of services had, as yet, been taken.
Dr Thompson was quoted by the Irish Medical Newsas saying the hospital had requested extra staff from the Eastern Region Health Authority but he said no one had discussed it with him.He has 3,800 patients while the recommended European ratio is 1,000 diabetes patients per consultant.
He is critical of the lack of facilities available to patients with diabetes and is reportedly unhappy that a meeting with the Minister for Health, Mr Martin - when a plan submitted by the Diabetes Federation of Ireland to improve diabetes services was to be discussed - had not taken place.
Beaumont chief executive Mr John Lamont said today although the hospital recognised services were severely stretched, its policy of giving priority to patients in order of need within the resources available remained unchanged.