Dr. Brendan O'Shea:

With regard to the diagnostics and following on from Deputy Naughton, there is a wide variety of diagnostic procedures that can be carried out at the level of the GP. To what extent are GPs doing that now, if at all, and what capacity exists to do it? I refer specifically to what is known as "near-patient testing". I would be interested to hear whether they have any ideas about how that could be improved, what sort of resources the GPs would need, and whether GPs need the assistance of other health-care professionals in terms of a primary care resource setting and how that might work.

Do the delegates believe having salaried GPs will work? Clearly, there is an issue with retention in some areas, but not in others. There is considerable talk about primary care. This committee focuses on it very heavily. Apparently, the whole world is focusing on it. We have been consistently asking the Minister questions on the number of additional staff planned for the primary care centres. The answer we get is a very comprehensive one, a nice round figure of zero. With regard to the delegates' vision for a primary care resource or centre that works, do they believe there is a need to establish a certain ratio of patients to health care professionals? Should we go down that road? Should we examine it? Would it work? If we are to go in this direction, is there an area we could examine that would help us ascertain the socioeconomic profile of patients? Clearly, there is a difference in the ratio in affluent areas by comparison with areas of deprivation.