EXCLUSIVE

DIABETICS are being put at risk of developing kidney failure and other complications because of delays in setting up a clinic to help them, patients and their families claimed yesterday.

The diabetes service at Paisley's Royal Alexandra Hospital has been stalled half-way since it was set up four years ago.

As a result, it has one consultant instead of two, and a specialist clinic for monitoring patients with early kidney problems has had to be put on hold. Other patients have faced postponements of their appointments as the staff struggle to cope.

Scottish Health Minister Sam Galbraith now faces a protest from patients' families as waiting lists in Scottish hospitals top 89,525 for the first three months of this year, an increase of 1759 over 1997.

Mrs Linsey McKillop, whose father, Mr John Pollock, 59, is an RAH patient, said: ''He had an appointment at the beginning of March and it was put off until the end of April, then it was put off until the end of June.

''Diabetics in this area are being treated as second-class citizens. Diabetes is the fastest-growing disease in the West of Scotland and the staff are struggling to cope. I have taken it up with the trust and the health board. Now my next step is Sam Galbraith.''

According to official guidelines, the population served by the hospital - 200,000 - should have two consultants. There are estimated to be 4000 diabetics in the area, of whom only half attend the hospital.

Dr Miles Fisher, the sole consultant, who was brought in to start up the service four years ago, said: ''We have very little flexibility. Things will start to go wrong.

''Most patients should be seen every six months, but it can be seven or eight months, or even a year if the patient misses an appointment and has to be moved down the list.

''We check once a year for possible complications, and the other six-monthly visit is to check on sugar levels and on how well they are controlling them.

''There was a crying need for a consultant when I arrived, and we got specialist nurses and started the service. The second year was supposed to be for a second consultant to extend the service, but from then they said they had no money.

''I have specialist clinics, including a pregnancy clinic and specialist paediatric clinic, but the big need, borne out by the national guidelines, is for a clinic for people with early kidney problems.

''The ones with late problems have to go the Western Infirmary for dialysis. For every one of these, there will be two or three with intermediate kidney problems who have regular checks.

''We need to set up a support clinic, and we need another consultant to do that. This is the most vulnerable group and they are not getting the most up-to-date care.

''You can delay deterioration by very aggressively treating their blood pressure with ACE inhibitors or multiple blood pressure tablets, but if we don't get the chance to do that we might need to put them on dialysis sooner than would be necessary. Once they are at high risk of kidney problems they are at risk of everything else.

''The ones who get the heart problems are the ones with kidney problems. You do a lot of tests on them so it is quite labour-intensive. There are about 200 patients that we know of who would merit more intensive input, but we don't have the facilities or the personnel to do it.'' A spokesman for the RAH trust said that the hospital had forwarded a #168,000 proposal - including a second consultant - to Argyll and Clyde Health Board, which had told them that at present it did not have high enough priority.

Yesterday, however, the board said the bid would be a high priority when it was considering future spending plans over the next few weeks.