Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What I am hearing is that if the palliative services are involved things move faster. It appears the word "palliative" strikes a chord in the HSE. However, a person who is terminally ill and has a 12 week window does not necessarily tick the palliative box, such that families have to jump through a lot of hoops to get services. As stated, sometimes by the time all of this has been done the patient has died. To my mind, this affects not only the family's experience of that illness but that of the carers and doctors involved. It is frustrating for GPs and community pharmacists to see people without services.