Ms Barbara O'Connell:

We took a very pragmatic and practical approach. I was asked what rehabilitation services actually entail but I would like to bring members back to what a concussion is. One can experience headaches and dizziness and people can get very depressed. We are coming across many players who have sustained a number of concussions over time. The rehabilitation services are for people who say they are forgetting things, they are disorganised and they are really moody. We have heard players say they are sitting in dark rooms, due to light sensitivity. Relationships are breaking down at home. We need a multidisciplinary team to deal with that.

Dr. Byrne mentioned the child who cannot go to school. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland has the ability and knowledge to deal with those cases but not the resources to roll them out. That is what is needed so that when people are experiencing those things, they have someone to help them. A player who recently retired, and then spoke about his concussions, had difficulty going back to college because he could not organise his college notes and could not turn up to appointments on time. A very practical and pragmatic approach is required which does not always require a neurologist or a neuropsychologist but which needs clinical input around counselling and occupational therapy. It is not always about the physios or the medics; it is about the allied health professionals who are very pragmatic, the activities of daily living which people can no longer do as a result of repeat concussions, and social withdrawal and how that affects people's lives. To answer the question on what we see as rehabilitation, it must go the whole way down the track.

A member mentioned they fell and knocked their head. If they suddenly thought they were not themselves and asked who would they go to, I would advise that they go to Acquired Brian Injury Ireland. We do not have the resources but we have the knowledge. I was asked what we can do. There is a role for an organisation like ours to add on to the care pathway, following the clinical diagnosis and when it becomes a non-medical issue. That is what a person who has experienced a concussion is looking for. Specialist services, including psychology, behavioural therapy and family support, are needed. If an elite player is not himself anymore and has become depressed, it affects the whole family, including the kids, so that help is needed for everybody.

On the question about how Acquired Brain Injury Ireland could play a part, one area of our expertise is that we provide neuro-rehabilitation. We are prepared to take a leadership role in assisting the Department of Health. Our experience has been tremendous. We deal with all of the sporting bodies. We have been very successful in bringing everybody together and in pulling together the expertise. I heard somebody ask at what country should we look. I got really annoyed about that because we have the expertise here. We know what to do. That is why we have identified the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills to say we are going to pull everybody together. It is not a one-size-fits-all but a series of agreed protocols and policies which would be rolled out and which people would know.

We need to take in the added value of educating our children that trips and falls also cause concussion. There is an added value there in training kids to recognise what a concussion is at a very young age, namely, that they are dizzy because they just fell.

We are producing very simple cards because people do not like carrying around little booklets and they are never there when they need them. Basically, something very small which fits into one's wallet is required and which has some of the questions mentioned to hand if one is at the side of a pitch. We have produced a number of easy things and we will launch an app next month, which will be accessible to parents and coaches. It will have clinical guidelines, questions and answers for clinicians. We have an expert group, of which Dr. McGoldrick is part. An international expert group has helped us also. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland can play a leadership role in assisting the roll out of that education and awareness.

On a very practical level, a member spoke about the girl guides and the Order of Malta. They all have really good training programmes. Let us use what people have and just add on to it. People will say they have another class to go to but information should be readily available and practical. We are really teaching people to signpost. One may be taking one's son home in the car and notice he is not really himself and he will say he does not feel well. It is usually mums and dads who will identify something is not right and will ask what they should do. It follows on that general practitioners need to be educated. The care pathway needs to be in place. We should start at grassroots level and make this something people know.

As I said, we asked players who said they got sick after the match, if they knew it was a concussion. They said "No" but that they did not feel right for a couple of days. We are starting at that very basic level.