Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, we have run out of time. I have many questions I would like to ask.

The witnesses who were before us earlier gave a fairly lengthy statement.

They outlined some really difficult stories and the challenges faced by the advocacy group and the people they are speaking up for. They had a number of recommendations relating to everything from masking in healthcare settings to clean air and antigen testing. They gave examples of patient experiences. It makes for difficult reading. It includes vaccination, the economics involved and so on. As stated, they made a number of recommendations. There were a couple of asks that seemed quite logical. Maybe at some stage the witnesses might be able to come back to address education and basic training for GPs. Many of the proposals they have seem quite logical. Maybe the witnesses could come back to us at some stage about their view on some of those asks.

I just want to give one example. Regarding the challenge with sharing information, I know of one patient who goes to the Mater hospital to see a heart specialist and goes to St. James's Hospital to see a respiratory specialist. It is difficult for the two systems to communicate. That is just one example. Earlier, we were talking about the clinics. There is no formal discussion. If we are talking about recommendations, one recommendation should be in respect of those clinics and the experiences people have every day. It would be useful not only for patients but for the HSE to share that information. Could the witnesses come back to us at some stage about how that is developing? Do they find it quite common that the systems do not talk to each other about patients in their practices? Have they recommendations that we could follow up on with regard to that?