Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Absolutely. It is an expansion of the community neurological teams. While I was in the Department of Health, I had the support of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and the team to ensure there was a funding line in place for neurological services. We also need specialist teams. Over the years, I have managed to create specialist progressing disability services, PDS, teams for the deaf and for the blind. We have worked with Chime and with ChildVision. The next specialist team we plan to work on is a team for paediatric neurological services. There will be an expansion of the community neurological teams but also work with the specialist team. The Deputy is right; there will be an outreach model. Data will be gathered to support families. Rather than always meeting with a crisis, there will be a reaching back into the National Rehabilitation Hospital, NRH, or the local team so that when a child hits a milestone, there can be a proper clinical follow-up to ensure he or she is not left behind. That is equally as important for a child who gets a concussion on a rugby pitch. Nobody might follow up with such a child after his or her visit to the accident and emergency department. It is about that piece. This will be a specialist team and quite bespoke. It will work with the likes of Dr. Irwin Gill and the NRH. That piece will be a game-changer not only for children in Cork, but for children all over the country who need to access services in Dublin for care. That is a priority for the team and for me.