Dr. Colm Henry:

In my previous role, working with Mr. Woods in the acute hospital division, we produced a model of care for the treatment of haemochromatosis working with the Irish Haemochromatosis Association patient representatives. Their main concern was access. It is an interesting example of the shift we need to make in healthcare. There are patients who are travelling from counties Kerry and Donegal to avail of a phlebotomy service in Dublin. It service could be provided in a GP's surgery, but it also could be provided in a blood transfusion service van at the side of a road. As anybody knows, giving blood is not a difficult procedure. It is very welcome for the model of care and the patients involved that we now see, under the GP contract, that this is a line of work that they will be expected to do in engaging in chronic care services. It is an example of what we have to do in dealing with other chronic diseases. We need to take out of hospital work that does not need to be done in it, clogging access and increasing waiting lists. We need to bring it into the primary care service and the community, working not only with GPs but also, as in this case, with the Irish Blood Transfusion Service.