Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 19 September 2024
Committee on Drugs Use
Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed)
9:30 am
Dr. Des Crowley:
Yes. That is the problem. There are people who cannot access their local community primary care service and they have to go to a specialist service which is a considerable distance from where they live. That has improved slightly because with Covid we were able to start providing remote care, which is very beneficial in that scenario. The advent of Healthmail, the IT system which allows us to send prescriptions directly to the pharmacy, definitely has improved things. However, there is capacity to look at those blackspots around the country and to ask what resources need to be put in, what the issue is and how can we eliminate the waiting list.
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