A Bandon man who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2015 says there are just 6 specialist Parkinson's nurses in the entire country.
Tom Wilkinson was speaking at the launch of a new campaign to urge the HSE to address what he says is a critical staffing shortage.
The Neurological Alliance of Ireland say there is a shortfall of 16 neurology nurses at Cork University Hospital, which is in turn resulting in long waiting lists and huge expense for the service.
The group argue that hiring more of the nurses in Cork would reduce waiting times and improve quality of life for people with conditions such as dementia, epilepsy and acquired brain injury.
Speaking to RedFM News, Tom Wilkinson outlines the situation for people like him.
"We have roughly 1,250 people with Parkinson's in county Cork.
"We have no specialist nurse. We are always living in a situation where we really want to go an see a specialist.
"In Ireland I would say there is something like 12,000+ people with Parkinson's - and there are six specialist nurses in the whole of the country.
"If you go across the border into Northern Ireland - there are 22 specialist nurses."
