Family of Laois woman with MS ‘outraged’ with 'box-ticking' reply from Minister’s office
Mountmellick family feel reply was ‘impersonal, disgraceful and a box-ticking exercise’
The family of a Laois woman in advanced stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) say they are ‘angry and frustrated’ with a response they have received on behalf of Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD.
Mountmellick woman Orla Coss (46) was just twenty five years of age when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2005. From a social butterfly and avid Irish dancer, Ms Coss is now sadly limited to her bed and her wheelchair, and resides permanently in St Brigid’s Shaen Hospital in Portlaoise. She is in receipt of palliative care for her symptoms.
In a recent article from the Leinster Express / Laois Live, Ms Coss’s sister Michelle Dunne detailed the family’s exhaustive battle to secure essential neurology supports for Orla, highlighting their experience of a lack of readily available supports in the Midlands. The family likened the difference in care between the midlands and Dublin to a ‘two-tier health system’, with no permanent neurology team in Laois or Offaly.
Ms Coss’s sister Alice Jones has said that following on from this article, the family received a response to their letter sent to the office of Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD.
“The Department is committed to working with all relevant stakeholders including the NAI, HSE and patient representatives to strengthen key services and supports for people with neurological conditions and have made significant investments as well as committing to further measures in the new Programme for Government,” the response sent to the Coss family read.
The email highlighted that in 2025, €4.3 million was allocated to support the implementation of the Neurology Model of Care and the Hub and Spoke Model for neurology services.
“This funding will enable the recruitment of 5 consultant neurologists and an additional 25 nurse specialist posts. The funding will also enable development of the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) service at the Mater Hospital in Dublin which was allocated 1.5 posts. As of April 2026, approximately 78% of the combined 31.5 posts have been recruited,” the reply explained.
The Minister’s office also explained the intention to progress the implementation of the HSE Model of Care for Neurology.
“The National Clinical Programme for Neurology is actively working on a Hub and Spoke model to guide equitable neurology services around the country to align with the new health regions and to tackle the gaps in neurology services nationally,” it read.
“Many hospitals already have well developed neurology services, but funding received in Budget 2025 will enable delivery of Phase 1 of the Hub and Spoke model.
“It is expected that this proposed Hub and Spoke model will enable a reduction in waiting lists, timely access to diagnosis and treatment and thus, improve quality of life and prognosis for people with neurological symptoms,” the response finished.
Ms Jones told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that she found this response to be ‘impersonal, disgraceful and a box-ticking exercise’.
“To get a response back like this- it’s not personal. It’s never going to help our Orla,” Ms Jones said.
“Her MS has progressed. I think about the people across the country in the same boat as Orla. If that’s the attitude and response we get to Orla’s issues, they’re getting the very same,” she said.
“I think that this reply is just a standard email that gets sent. I have tried to approach TDs and the Táinaiste, but we can’t get in the door. We have decided to start campaigning for Orla and people like her, we want to help others. We want to raise awareness of the need for such hubs with neurological teams across the country,” Ms Jones said.
“I think that it was just a box-ticking exercise, that it was a standard reply because it would look bad to say nothing. There’s no mention of what they can do for Orla, or any acknowledgement that they have let her down,” she slammed.
“There was no suggestion of what our next steps should be, there was nothing. It makes me so mad.”
Ms Jones spoke on the closeness of her family, and their goal to raise awareness of the issues Ms Coss has faced over the past two decades.
“We fought to get Orla moved back to Laois. Our mother is 80, she needed to be close to her. We did it all ourselves, not one person has knocked on our mother’s door to tell her what our next steps should be. Over the years, we had to determine the next steps for Orla’s care through searching online. There are so many people in Ireland in the same scenario,” she stressed.
In the wake of sharing Orla’s story, the family say they have been ‘blown away’ by the support and similar stories they have received.
“We have had people come to us and explain that they’re in the same scenario. This is why we need to be out here fighting together. Orla worked all her life- she had her own home, her own care. When she was able to, she was standing outside shops trying to raise money for the MS society. She deserves some support, and for people to fight for her,” Ms Jones argued.
“It’s a disgrace, getting that [response]. The email was a load of jargon. Over the years, our sister Michelle has been driving up and down from Dublin on an ongoing basis, bringing Orla to appointments. Why haven’t we supports around us? What planet are these people on, and where is the funding for neurology going?” Ms Jones questioned.
“No one has come to us with a plan for Orla. The girls in the care home minding Orla are brilliant, but it’s heartbreaking that they are the same girls Orla went to school with. We have nowhere to put Orla. She has been in a care home since her 30’s. The system has let her down,” Ms Jones finished.