Dr. Sara Burke:

Yes. That is the case with the triage nurse who was on a telephone and available through the HSE during Covid. That surely would be a way of spreading the load of the out-of-hours burden. At the moment, the only out-of-hours calls made are to a GP where a person will probably be triaged or to the health insurers that provide helplines. We need to look at a broader response to 24-7 community care and the lowest level of complexity, which is what is at the heart of Sláintecare. However, we should not push everybody into GP surgeries and the emergency departments.