Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that. A point raised with me by a number of nursing homes is the current position where if a patient has to be transferred to a hospital for a minor procedure - it may well be an X-ray, a cardiac issue or a pacemaker or a defibrillator check - on return to the nursing home, even though he or she might have only been on the hospital campus for an hour or two, he or she is expected to go into 14 day isolation. That adds considerable trauma for the individual, families, and the nursing home. Nursing homes are now making the decision on what is most urgent so that people might or might not attend hospital. Is there a better way of doing things going forward? Is it possible services may be made available at nursing home sites rather than people having to go to hospital? Is there an opportunity for learning there?