A Donegal woman whose teenage daughter is in ‘extreme pain’ from a severe musculoskeletal disorder says she is being forced to travel abroad for treatment after six years on waiting list.

Lunchtime Live listener Emma’s 15-year-old daughter has been waiting to see a rheumatologist since she was nine years old.

When she turns 16 in August she will no longer be entitled to paediatric care and will have to join the bottom of an adult waiting list.

“When she ages out, she will have been on the list to see a rheumatologist for over six years,” Emma told Lunchtime Live.

“And she will never have seen a rheumatologist in Children’s Health Ireland.”

Emma’s daughter’s musculoskeletal disorder condition is genetic and her older daughter has been diagnosed with it as well.

“We were advised to get all of our children screened when our first child was diagnosed with it,” she said.

“She had her diagnosis already and we were told she would need intervention from rheumatology - this can be a very debilitating disease.”

Emma. 23/07/2024. Image: Supplied.

Despite the seriousness of the condition, Emma’s family have been faced with long waiting lists for a series of medical interventions.

“She’s two years on a waiting list for a cardiologist, still waiting on an echo [a scan that checks the health of the heart and nearby blood vessels]  - although she’s supposed to have one every 12 months,” she said.

“I did try ringing them last week and I got one of those letters that said if you need the appointment, tick it and send it back.

“Actually, to be honest, I just sat there and cried.”

Emma believes her daughter has been “failed” by the system and she feels “guilty” that she has not received the care she should have.

“If you can imagine, if your joints are coming apart on a weekly basis, you’re going to be in extreme pain,” she said.

'Put to the back of the list'

When Emma contacts the health service about her daughter, she finds staff “very apologetic” but is informed there are hundreds of children waiting to see a rheumatologist.

The family have decided they will have to pay for private treatment abroad.

“That’s what we’re going to end up doing,” she said.

“What’s going to happen now is she’s going to go the back of the list and in a couple of weeks, her referral will just be sent on and she’ll be back as a new referral.

“She’ll be put to the back of the list.

“We’re just going... to find the money somewhere to take her abroad and we will - we had to do it for our other daughter.”

The HSE has been contacted for comment by Newstalk.

Main image: Doctor measures the blood pressure of a patient. Image: Piotr Adamowicz / Alamy