58 week delay for those needing audiology services in Kerry

A Listowel man who’s been told he has to wait 58 weeks for an audiology appointment has demanded a timeline on when services will return to Kerry.

Seamus Fitzgerald, who needs to have his hearing aids readjusted, received a message in January to say he would be seen next year.

The HSE shut the community audiology department on the John Joe Sheehy road in Tralee during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minor repairs, which normally only take a few minutes, now have to be fixed in Dublin which can take up to two weeks for them to be returned.

Mr Fitzgerald says the lack of services in Kerry is very inconvenient.

Radio Kerry has contacted the HSE for comment but has yet to receive a reply.