Dr. Bernadette Carr:

This is a useful discussion. Some 70% of a hospital's costs are staff costs. It is not like a hotel, in that a hospital must focus on quality. A hospital cannot get rid of nurses, as even a single patient in a ward still requires care. One of two things can happen. First, more patients who would not otherwise have been treated would be brought to hospital. For example, there is always a level at which a hip replacement can be done. The question is at what stage in someone's arthritis should it be done. Discussing the issue of supply and induced demand is difficult, as one can argue over whether a person needs a hip replacement, but the real question is when does it become necessary.

Second, if no additional patients are brought to hospital, it becomes a large white elephant with unoccupied beds, many nurses, doctors and physiotherapists and expensive machinery that needs to be paid for by-----