Madam, - I read with interest the comments made by Prof Brendan Drumm while attending the IHCA meeting in Galway last weekend.
I was particularly taken by his remark: "It is a challenge to get [ multidisciplinary teams and care groups] into place. But I don't believe this kind of movement should be stopped just because somebody else hasn't done it".
The truth is, of course, that we have been operating care groups and multidisciplinary programmes for neurological patients at Beaumont Hospital for at least eight years, with minimal funding from health boards, and with a huge dependence on external (usually pharmaceutical) funding. We have published extensively in peer reviewed journals and have generated a substantial evidence base to validate our service.
Over the years, we have repeatedly submitted our evidence-based service plans to the ERHA requesting funding to support and improve delivery of care and to reduce our reliance on external funding. These submissions have been to no avail. Our multidisciplinary teams continue to struggle, and we are forced to continue to seek support from external sources.
It is frustrating in the extreme when our CEO does not appear to be aware of the good parts of the service we provide.
Of course, appropriate funding of our multidisciplinary teams would greatly enhance our ability to deliver a high-level care programme that straddles hospital and community services. - Yours, etc,
ORLA HARDIMAN, Director of Neurology, Consultant Neurologist, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9.