Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations and their attendance. It has been a fascinating discussion spanning almost two hours. I am completely on the same page with all the witnesses regarding everything they said. I often think about the mental health of the GPs and those who work in their practices. I acknowledge the huge pace of work and the number of people GPs see every day. As Dr. O'Shea would know, I have family in the business. I am concerned when I hear talk of 30 consultations before lunch and GPs being petrified they will miss something during that period. Our GPs and their support staff do an amazing job and we need to do what we can to help support them. My firm belief is that the local GP practice should be a one-stop shop. People, generally, have built up a good and positive relationship with their GP. I am using the term in a mild sense but if a person is feeling down or believes a family member is feeling down and he or she does not know where to go - I am aware the Minister is talking about bringing in a one-stop phone number, which is a good idea - if such a person is in a deep dark fog and does not know where to turn, it must be to his or her GP with whom he or she will have built up a relationship of understanding, compassion and relief. A consultation with a GP can be for a ten-minute period up to a maximum of 20 minutes. It is difficult for everybody involved in that very tight time space. The fact that our GP practices have extended more into primary care centres is good. There is often a physiotherapist, a tropical medicine practice, a dentist and the GP operating out of a centre.

I acknowledge what was said about a maximum of 20% possibly having somebody on hand. It should be something we aim for. I am interested in the NHS and the type of talk therapy that includes up to 20 sessions. What are the costings around that? It is the first time I have heard social engineering referred to in the context of thinking about positive mental health as opposed to mental health as an issue. It makes sense and there is much we can do on that. Ballymore Eustace does not have its own GP. Sean Fogarty, a very entrepreneurial post office owner, provides access to a tele-doctor service. It is better to go in and talk to a GP face-to-face but it is a great system for a community and village that does not have one. People can go into the hub where they have privacy.

Talk therapy is hugely important. In Kildare, there are referrals to HOPE(D), which gets no State funding whatsoever. It is wonderful to be able to support it. It is something we need to grasp. What are the witnesses' views on the issue of dual diagnosis? What are the difficulties from the witnesses' perspective in terms of trying to deal with that? What is their appraisal of the CAMHS system?