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Cllr Toireasa Ferris.
SINN Féin Kerry County Councillor Toiréasa Ferris has slammed the treatment available to a young Ardfert woman who suffers from a chronic eating disorder.
Cllr Ferris said the response offered by the HSE and government ring hollow for Daniella Russell — who suffers from Anorexia — and her family who are desperate to save her life.
She said: “Today Ardfert girl Daniella, who is being tube fed in a London hospital, is undergoing a blood transfusion as an extra measure to try to save her life. Her mother rushed her to England a number of weeks ago, while she was just hours from death.
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“Having attended the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service since 2013, the only support the Minister and the HSE are willing to offer this young woman is a bed in the psychiatric unit at University Hospital Kerry.
“While dedicated and hardworking, the staff there do not have the specialised expertise required to treat eating disorders, which is why, following numerous admissions over the years, Daniella continues to be as ill as she is.
“Daniella’s mother has repeatedly appealed to the HSE to approve admission for Daniella at a private specialised eating disorder unit in Dublin. She must now divide herself between two countries so that she can give both her daughter and young teenage son the support they need. Speaking to Joyce at Daniella’s bedside, it is clear that this situation is taking its toll on all the family.
“Sympathetic words about Joyce’s devotion to her daughter mean nothing, all she wants is appropriate services to be provided in her own country,” concluded Cllr Ferris.
