John O'Donoghue
Ceist:50 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health whether he will make funds available to the Southern Health Board in 1997 to enable a diabetic clinic to be established at Tralee General Hospital, County Kerry. [23666/96]
Written Answers. - Diabetic Services.
Limerick East): The position in relation to this issue is as I stated in a previous parliamentary question on 26 November 1996.
Diabetic services for the Southern Health Board are currently provided at Cork University Hospital, where the board's endocrinology service is based, at the South Infirmary/Victoria Hospital and also by a number of general physicians in Tralee General Hospital.
The question of a consultant led service in Kerry has been raised in the recent past and the health board has examined the options in relation to the delivery of this service in consultation with senior medical, nursing and other staff. Following its consultation process, the board is now of the opinion that the establishment of a diabetic clinic at Tralee would require the appointment of an additional consultant. In view of the significant resource implications for this development, it will have to be prioritised, in the first instance, by the board. It will then fall to be considered by my Department in the context of the board's priorities and the many competing demands for resources within the acute health sector.