Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The health policy is much broader than just emergency departments, although access is extremely important. We need to create alternative centres for treatment. Particularly for me, the enhanced community care programme is a far more effective way to go. There has been huge progress on the enhanced community care programme in regions across the country whereby senior citizens and people in general can access a whole range of services, from respiratory centres, to cardiac care, diagnostics, rehabilitation for senior citizens and mental health programmes for young people all on the one campus with multidisciplinary teams in place. That is the future. Emergency departments in tertiary hospitals and major trauma hospitals are for people who are seriously ill or who have had serious accidents and require attendance at a tertiary hospital. We need to develop alternative centres, minor injury clinics, enhanced community care, prevention etc. to deal with many other issues.

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