Dr. Alan Byrne:

We have much work to do, although a lot has been done. I work in general practice as well as in sports medicine. Unfortunately, one needs to experience a few concussions to manage it. Someone has to visit a doctor with a medical problem in order for the doctor to learn how to manage it. One has to experience concussion. There is a necessity to work in the area also but I think the Irish College of General Practitioners can play a huge role from the medical end of things.

A lot of people put the pocket concussion recognition tool together. I would not say there is one thing we should do differently. We have plenty to do at the moment with what we have. We could increase the resources we have as doctors, where we can send on our difficult cases of concussion. A child or an adolescent may not be able to sit his or her junior certificate because he or she has been concussed, has had symptoms for the past six months and has been unable to go to school. If we could get those difficult cases to the appropriate professionals, while at the same time educate those people who are at the coalface to raise the suspicion of concussion, we can then look to the next step. However, we have plenty of work ahead of us.