Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let us consider the integration issue. I find a major disengagement between the hospitals and general practitioners and between GPs and public health nurses. The consultants have looked at other systems, including systems in New Zealand. In looking at systems outside Ireland did they find far greater co-ordination between the hospitals, GPs and public health nurses?

I was shocked after speaking to someone last night who has had a serious operation. The person has been discharged from hospital and is living alone. All the person gets from the public health nurse is a telephone call and there is no follow-up checking. The person is six weeks out of hospital and is in what I would consider to be a serious enough medical condition, but there is no co-ordination. No one has written to the public health nurse saying the nurse should call to this person once every week.

The consultants have looked at other systems. This is not an area where we need to invest money. It is simply about setting up new structural co-ordination. Did the consultants look at that in the context of delivering far more effective services by the co-ordination of services?

I have looked at the set-up in Canada, where GPs go into and work in hospitals. Some might work two days per week or two half-days per week there. That is the level of contact. In Ireland, a patient is in a hospital one day and the next day he is talking to the GP, who has little communication from the hospital. Has PA Consulting Group looked at that issue?