Children with diabetes in Cork, it has been claimed, are at risk of developing complications such as blindness, ulceration of the limbs and kidney failure because they have to wait up to eight months for appointments due to a shortage of specialised staff.
Charlotte Pearson, chairwoman of the Cork Parents Support Group of the Diabetes Federation, said yesterday that the county suffers from "regional inequality when it comes to delivering paediatric diabetes services".
In the past three years, there has been a doubling in the number of children attending Cork University Hospital for diabetes care, Ms Pearson said.