Ms Alana Ryan:

It is difficult. Going back to what it means for the service user, with any healthcare concern, your automatic assumption is to go to your local GP and assume that he or she will be able to help you but because of the My Options route, it means that you have this additional step to go through. The knowledge of My Options is quite slim and much of the research shows that there needs to be much greater awareness and a publicity drive around My Options being the first step. Many service users face additional delays because they do not realise that they have to go through this. When it is a time-sensitive procedure, not automatically knowing the quick first step that you have to take is actually quite significant.