Ms Marie O'Shea:

Sometimes a particular GP might be the only provider in the practice and they may work part time. Someone might make an appointment with the GP on a Tuesday and that GP might not be back until the following Tuesday. There may be difficulties with GPs who are job sharing and may be there three days one week and four days the next week. The urban areas are far more populated with GP providers than the rural areas where there is greater risk of that happening. It is fair to say that the onset of the virtual medicine has helped with accessing care. It has ameliorated the effects of the three-day wait to some extent. However, particularly in inclusion medicine surroundings, I would worry for the more vulnerable people, such as migrants who have been highlighted and disabled people. The submissions to the public consultation by disabled groups specifically referred to the three-day wait as being problematic for them. There were multiple submissions by those groups. There is the psychological impact of the three-day wait.