Dr. Louise Higgins:

I echo what my colleagues said about PDS. It is about a lot more than resourcing, but even to start with resourcing, we all feel the mapping exercises did not get the figures right for setting up teams or projecting. There has been an increase in the need for access to services. In addition to resources, we are looking at support for staff. We have all talked about how challenging a working environment it is for therapists. With PDS, there was a dismantling of some supports for front-line clinicians, which needs to be looked at, particularly if we are trying to attract people back or keep people in posts. As my colleagues said about support pathways and access to specialist supports, one of the challenges with PDS was the dismantling of a number of areas of support. While PDS makes it equitable, there were areas of expertise, many of which got lost within PDS. For many staff working on the ground, it feels like those clear pathways or policies are not there to support a PDS or CDNT to function. I echo what others said about reviewing that. We need to put families and children at the centre.