Galway Bay fm newsroom - A Galway TD has raised concern in the Dáil over the lack of a dedicated paediatric pain specialist in the country.
Deputy Mairead Farrell claimed that the sole HSE paediatric pain specialist resigned in 2019 due to a continued lack of support and an intense and increasing workload.
She said there are now no pain paediatric specialists left, and there are also no private pain consultants in the country who see children.
Deputy Farrell pointed out that many families have been forced to travel abroad at great expense to seek treatment for chronic pain.
She acknowledged that a multi-disciplinary team has since been put in place, to support pain consultant specialist roles.
However, Deputy Farrell said there is no clarity on recruiting a permanent pain consultant and children are still facing unacceptable delays.
Speaking in response, Minister Frank Feighan said all members of the multi-disciplinary team are now in place.
However, he admitted there has been ongoing difficulty in recruiting a paediatric pain specialist.
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