Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to thank all the witnesses and commend them on their very comprehensive presentations. I recently spoke to a medical consultant who was involved in a team looking after a patient. They spent five hours in the operating theatre trying to get someone through a very difficult situation and they thought they had done a great job. They found that in the theatre next door there was a team of doctors down from Dublin doing organ harvesting involving a girl who had unfortunately had a tragic accident and whose family decided to donate the organs. They were extremely impressed by the co-ordination that was going on. That family's decision to donate organs resulted in the transplant of a liver, a pancreas and kidneys. After spending three or four hours on organ harvesting, they advised the consultant, to whom I spoke, that they were flying back to Dublin, with all the recipients already on the way to Dublin. They were then scheduled to continue on after midnight to complete the transplants. That indicates the commitment of the medical and nursing teams involved in the transplant area. We should acknowledge the great work they do. When we look at the health service we are very good at identifying the deficiencies. However, it is also very important that we give recognition to the work being done there.

Earlier this morning I raised an issue I have with the HSE. Does a specific person in the HSE have responsibility for this area or does each hospital act independently? When discussing co-ordinators in hospitals, the first question is whether one person should be answerable in the HSE and work from there. I agree with the witnesses. In the case I was discussing, the consultants in the hospital advised the parents that the person would not come through. The family had no one else to fall back on for assistance. Appointing co-ordinators is important, but is one person in the HSE responsible? Is there a mechanism for co-ordination between the HSE and the voluntary hospitals?

The European cross-border health care directive was passed in February 2011 and has to be implemented now. Is there now far more co-ordination between health services in Europe and particularly between the UK and Ireland in this area? Up to now each country has been working individually. With more specialisation, could we develop a more comprehensive service through more co-ordination between member states?

The key issue the witnesses have identified is that of co-ordinators within the hospitals. With regard to the possibility of a change in the area of consent, coming from a legal background I know the difficulties that can arise in dealing with the administration of estates. It is always a difficult time for families. I am certainly in favour of a change in the law in this area, and presumed consent, which is a better option at this stage, is something towards which we should be working. It also requires a major public information process. We achieved this in the area of road safety. This is one area that should be given priority from the point of view of national co-ordination and a national campaign.