Dr. Bridget Johnston:

Sláintecare is very clear about this model of integrated care and moving care away from the places of highest complexity into the most appropriate setting for people's care. There has to be a shift away from lists of people waiting to see somebody in a hospital outpatient clinic to being able to meet needs in the community more often. We are seeing significant demand that we are not able to measure appropriately because we do not have the full numbers on individuals. Some of those who are waiting are on several lists. This demand is often channelled into the wrong streams or pots and belong in other places. We need both the resources to get people into the right places in order that we can meet capacity, while also thinking about how we can make the current system better to ensure it will operate much more efficiently than at present.