Dr. Sara Burke:

In preparation for this appearance I read the most recent minutes of the Sláintecare programme board and they talked about strong progress on projects. For me, even talking about projects is part of the problem. They look at waiting lists, they look at enhanced community care and then there is a section around digital health that is unreadable and does not tell me anything. Part of the problem is that it is viewed as a project rather than the whole system reform we described previously. It is like the back side of a clock and all these cogs need to be turning to deliver the reform. This is why we need the engine room of oversight and dull things like progress reports and action plans with specific targets so that there is a transparency between what the system is saying it is doing with €20 billion plus of public money and what is actually happening. Are we making progress or not on waiting times? Are we delivering? How many more people are getting their care in the community?