Dr. Denis McCauley:

The shifting of some care to the community is a valid concept. Not all care can be transferred to the community but the care that is transferred has to be planned and it also has to be resourced. I alluded to chronic disease management earlier. That will be a positive development. It only started this year and it has been hindered slightly by the onset of Covid-19, but we have adapted it. We were innovative in adapting it so that we can look after a group of over-70s in a Covid-19 situation.

For this to work, we need to have the required capacity and consultants. General practice is always adaptable, innovative and flexible. However, we need a plan and it needs to be resourced. If care is being transferred just for the sake of it, without it being proven to be useful, that is a bad thing. If it is being done just to save money without any view of the actual benefits, or lack thereof, to the patient, then that is a bad thing.

If, however, certain parts of care can be transferred and if it has been clinically proven that GPs can at least match that care and, as a GP would say, at times even improve that care and if that is feasible and the resources are provided, then general practice will stand up. If the transfer of such care is incoherent, however, and if it is not planned and resourced, it could actually have a detrimental effect. The system is now in flux and the last thing we want is for that flux to result in a decision to transfer care to the community without all the personnel being in place in the primary care teams, as well as the GPs. It is a laudable concept but it must be effective and it must be resourced.

There was a talk earlier about the flu vaccine. Any raised temperature that occurs in the community now will have an emotional and financial effect. We will not know if a raised temperature is Covid-19 until we test people. The flu is one aspect, however, where we can step up. The previous Minister spoke of vaccinating children. Once again, if that programme is planned properly, and we would like to get the planning done as quickly as possible so we can implement it, this will be a service that will show it can be effective.