John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation. For many years, I have heard of the Carlow-Kilkenny model. I am glad it is not an urban myth and that it actually exists. For the committee's work, as the sessions go on, it is becoming clearer that, in the context of a ten-year strategy, we need to start at primary care and get it right. If we fund it, resource it and replicate the model at St. Luke's Hospital, it will then have effects that will provide solutions more quickly further down the line. That is certainly something that is becoming very clear. I hope that is where we will be starting in our conclusions.

I have a few specific questions. A group from Dublin appeared before the committee earlier. Its members are GPs who are very under-resourced and based in deprived areas. How difficult was it for the witnesses to roll out this programme? They started out 20 years ago, I think they said. No matter what area one is in, there is resistance to change. People do not like change. Regardless of what profession one is in, change is almost automatically resisted. What level of resistance did the witnesses experience and how did they overcome it? More specifically, if the witnesses were to look at their model and replicate it throughout the country, how long would it take to put in place? I would hope that a 12 to 24-month target could be set and achieved. Perhaps it is hypothetical, but I hope it is not. I hope that, with the right attitude and determination, it can be achieved. That is what I would like to hear our guests' opinions on. The St. Luke's Hospital model does not only deal with the primary care, it has also expanded into the hospital. The link between the GP and the ED and how St. Luke's Hospital has managed to streamline it is where the future is. As I might have said at the start, the solution might be staring us in the face. It is just a matter of grasping the nettle and taking it up.