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

My next question is for Dr. Durcan. I understand that Beaumont Hospital has lost several dermatologists to the private sector, leaving only one permanent dermatologist in post. What seems to be happening now is that patients are essentially being subcontracted out to the people who used to work in the system. The seriousness of this type of thing sometimes gets lost in discussion. There is the idea when a person's knee is fixed or he or she is put on metformin, that everything is hunky-dory. The witnesses are working in the system and are worn out talking about the problems in it, as are we, but I am not sure whether people at home really understand how much these types of challenges can affect their lives. When staff are shed, as happened in Beaumont, there is a significant impact on patient care.