‘Would the HSE prefer people to go blind?’

CLLR HIGHLIGHT’S GRANDFATHER’S (92) WAIT FOR CATARACT TREATMENT

CATARACT sufferers in Kerry will go blind if they do not receive faster treatment according to FF Cllr Niall Kelleher. Cllr Kelleher slammed the length of time Kerry patients are waiting to have cataract treatment in Cork - which can take anything up from 18 months to two years. He cited the situation as ‘highly disproportionate’ and to ignore it as ‘outrageous’.

Cllr Kelleher raised the issue with Kerry’s deputies, who attended this month’s meeting of Kerry County Council, where he called on them to tackle the waiting list, stating that Cork’s population is up to three times larger than Kerry’s and there are six times more patients in Cork, but that Kerry cataract suffers were being asked to wait an inordinate amount of time for what is a life altering treatment.

Cllr Kelleher referenced several patients he knew of, including his 92-year-old grandfather, who is also waiting for treatment.

“This is vital treatment for people in the latter years of their life and what’s going to happen them if they don’t get the necessary treatment? Would the HSE prefer if elderly people go blind and be put in a home?” said Cllr Kelleher.

“I raised this with the Kerry deputies at Monday’s council meeting and I plan to write to the Minister as this needs intervention and direction from the top. The waiting times are neither fair nor equitable at the moment and not dealing with it is outrageous. Cataract procedures aren’t dealt with in Kerry and that much we can deal with, but to wait an inordinate length of time is not acceptable. People in the latter years of their life deserve better,” added Cllr Kelleher.

Figures from the HSE for May 2016 reveal that 156 Kerry patients were waiting for cataract treatment with 798 people on the waiting list for cataract operations at the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital in Cork.