Dr. Diarmuid Quinlan:

What is really good and very much in the pipeline is that the HSE is currently developing community specialist clinics, which will substantially improve our access to our consultant colleagues. That is very much to be lauded. We also have limited access to virtual clinics, which will be really good for patients because essentially, it resources GPs and consultants to communicate directly without necessitating the patient travelling to the hospital, if we could build upon that.

Finally, another really good news story is that the HSE, ICGP and other key partners worked to get GP access to diagnostics, particularly MRI and CT scans. The preliminary reports outcome for that shows that giving GPs access to MRI and other radiology has reduced emergency department referrals by 74% for these patients and outpatient referrals by 85%. Giving GPs access to diagnostics and other supports, therefore, can substantially improve hospital waiting times, emergency department attendances and outpatients referrals. The HSE is doing a lot of good and we need to build upon this.