Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps Sláintecare, which has been mentioned on a number of occasions, should be reconsidered as a forward planning report along the lines of A Vision for Change. One of Sláintecare's main recommendations was that there should be a move away from a hospital-centric model to a model that is centred on community and social care and where people are looked after in the community. It is hoped that this will prevent unnecessary attendances in hospital, which should be kept for complex and acute care. The witnesses represent physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, podiatrists, psychologists and social workers, all of whom are key members of community care teams. Unfortunately, many of our community care teams are missing many of these important specialists. This inhibits the delivery of care in the community. Is there a lack of such specialists applying for jobs? Is the moratorium inhibiting the recruitment of people? Is the complex nature of recruitment the problem? Many teams are deficient.