Longford diabetes patient denied life-saving device for 16 months due to ‘HSE error’ 

A Longford patient has spoken about the trauma and the significant stress of not being able to access a life-saving diabetes device for 16-months due to what she was told was a HSE 'error'.

Audrey McSherry said the HSE claimed there was an 'error' when a duplicate LTI (Long Term Illness) number was mistakenly set up, which resulted in her losing access to a vital life-saving CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor).

The monitor is inserted into the arm and it transmits constant blood glucose readings to mobile phones and warns the readings are going too low or too high but the 50 year old was denied it on the public system from November 2024 to February 2026.

Audrey was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 29 years old in 2006 after she presented to the A&E of Mullingar Hospital with Diabetic Ketosis, a life-threatening emergency caused by a severe lack of insulin in the body.

Audrey stated she is a ‘special diabetic’ and she is hypo unaware, a condition where a person with diabetes loses the ability to recognise the early warning signs of low blood sugar, such as shakiness, sweating, anxiety, or a fast heartbeat.

"It means when my sugars go low, I don't feel it until it's too late," she said.

"I have a phenomenon and there is no cure."

Audrey, a Dublin native who has been living in Longford for 20 years, was told by medics that due to the nature of her condition she would require a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) on a daily basis.

A CGM is a wearable medical device that tracks your blood sugar levels day and night without needing routine fingerstick blood tests

She said prior to her diagnosis she was was frequently going to the doctor.

"I was always weak and all sorts they just said it's work and it's stress and low iron and stuff like that, but then I lost three stone in a week or two.

"I wasn't big, I was just skin and bones and eventually I just, I just didn't feel well and I was running my brother's business.

"I said I think I'm going to go to the doctor and he took one finger prick and said you have to go to A&E now."

Audrey said she was subsequently found in 2006 to have ketosis, a metabolic state that occurs when the body burns fat for energy instead of glucose.

"I had only a few hours to live. My organs were shutting down and I was put into intensive care and told I was a type 1 diabetic, and they [the doctors] asked why I hadn't 't taken my insulin?

Audrey said her mother replied that she had literally just found out about having diabetes.

​Forced to go private for CGM device

The married 50 year-old said she only got the monitor when she went private in 2020.

"I had to get iron injections and stuff and when I went to get my illness benefit the GP in Longford said that they couldn't sign me off anymore until I went to see a diabetic consultant.

"The GP said you will be waiting two to three years to see a diabetic consultant on the public system so you are better off going private and we can send you now to the [Blackrock Health Hermitage Clinic]."

Audrey said she felt she had no choice but to go private and she paid €921 on CGM sensors between November 2024 and February 2026.

"The GP said he could get me into the Hermitage right away because I had private healthcare, and I still had to pay each time I was going, but at least I got the monitors.

"What they do is they send messages continuously to your phone and if you are going low, they will give you a warning and if you are going high, they will give you a warning."

Audrey recalled how it was actually the consultant who found that she was completely depleted and he booked her in straight away for a transfusion.

"Let's just say I've been let down by doctors and HSE for a long time," she added.

Audrey stated in November 2024 she was collecting her normal script but the pharmacy advised her that the HSE were not covering her Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM).

She stated there has been 'up to nearly two years worth of back forward' with the HSE since then.

Audrey said in November 2024 she was completely dropped off everything and her life was sent into turmoil as she felt unable to leave the house due to her debilitating condition and the loss of the CGM."I lost the monitor for no reason, I didn't know why it was, nobody did, nobody cared.

"The chemist didn't hear about it, and eventually I had to go back on a waiting list for Mullingar Hospital, I was knocked off that too because I didn't exist anymore you see.

"When I was dropped off the list I had no access to clinics, no consultants, no anything."

"I couldn't sleep, I couldn't leave the house and I was afraid to move for a whole year.

"Literally, I did not leave the house or go to the shops or anything because I wasn't able to check and I didn't know what my sugar levels were and I didn't know if I was going to collapse."

Audrey received a letter from the HSE and she said they they ‘amalgamated and they joined up the LTI numbers, which led to the confusion.

"I still don't believe it's possible.

"You can clearly see in the letter that they sent, it doesn't make any sense because they said that the duplicate one was set up in 2005.

"But, I wasn't even diagnosed until 2006,” she added.

"So you can kind of see the way they are answering, it doesn't make sense and it's not logical in any way,” she added.

Audrey's health deteriorated for a period with no vitally important CGM and she lost the use of her left side from eye, arm and leg for two days on January 1, 2025 during a very difficult time.

She stated this was due to 'continuous hypos' which are recurring, frequent, or persistent episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar, typically defined as blood glucose dropping below 4 mmol/L or 70 mg/dL).

Audrey said between July 2025 to January 2026 she was forced to spend €921 and the HSE advised her they will not reimburse her as did not buy from a pharmacy and they had no mechanism to process a refund.

"I didn't get to see the consultant until February 2026, when I got the monitors back.

"The nurse actually found out then because she put in a form to get the monitors and to check see if I was eligible, even though I've been on them for years.

"So, when she put the form in, it came back and said that I was already eligible.

Audrey said she feels completely let down by the HSE who “literally ignored everything and just put [her] on a waiting list”.

She received a letter from the HSE on September 25 last informing her of 'temporary changes to the Diabetes Service at Regional Hospital Mullingar, which will affect patients receiving specialist diabetic care.

The letter confirmed the service has been experiencing staffing shortages due to vacant Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) positions and one Clinical Specialist Dietician position'.

The letter said they were actively working to recruit to these positions and they hoped to make 'appointments as soon as possible'.

However, as a result ‘the Diabetes Day Service at Regional Hospital Mullingar would be suspended’.

The Longford Leader contacted the HSE for comment last Monday, October 12.

Last Tuesday a spokesperson responded and said, “The HSE is unable to comment on individual patients or specific cases due to patient confidentiality and data protection obligations.

“If a patient wishes to raise a concern or make a complaint about any aspect of their care or their experience of HSE services, they are encouraged in the first instance to contact the Your Service Your Say feedback and complaints service, which provides a formal process for the review and management of complaints.”