Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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In what the associate professor said. Everybody is an individual. Dr. Murphy touched on empathy and also, importantly, on people having choices. We do not hear that too often. It is like having two bars of chocolate and preferring one over the other in terms of whatever works for somebody. That relates to what Dr. Osborne said about doctors not having the necessary time to listen to patients. They are stretched. I was a member of the Committee on the Future of Healthcare and was involved in the work on the Sláintecare report, which had cross-party support and the support of those who were non-party. We genuinely believe that what is in that report can be implemented. There was no heroism around that work, rather we wanted to set down a marker for the future. I am glad the witnesses are supportive of it. Upskilling and competence was also mentioned in this. We are thinking of the people within the system. The attitude prevailing in our health system seems to be that one is a nurse, that is their job, they should do it and shut up, and, in terms of upskilling, the attitude seems to be what do they mean by saying they want to upskill, that they do not have the time, and in any event, the service is stressed in terms of the work that needs to be done. It is a toxic environment. We have always been self-centred on primary care. The first port of call is the general practitioner. Congratulations to the witnesses here, they are number one in the charts. The first port of call in England and Ireland is the GP. If the GP cannot access a place for their patient, their patient will probably get lost or the worst-case scenario would be over-medication. That is what makes me angry. I wrote the word "access" three times in my notes. We hear that raised every single say. I have seen the frustration of GPs about this. They are trying to do their best but when they get the next place for the patient, the patient cannot access it.

The exchange has been a breath of fresh air. I do not have questions. I listened carefully to what was said about the over-prescribing of medicine on occasion. As has been said to me many times, pharmaceuticals do not do cures, they do customers, which is a major issue. I am known to be blunt and straightforward at times but one has to be realistic. I would love to have a follow-up on this. I will ask the Chairman to pass on my contact details to the witnesses. The witnesses have an extremely achievable vision. We in this committee are trying to set markers for achieving that. I congratulate the witnesses. It is nice for a change not to be giving out. The witnesses have advocated, and it is on the record, as we have said many times, treating people with respect, giving them the time to tell their story, assessing them and giving them the right product or care to which they are entitled. Well done.