Dr. Ronan Fawsitt:

I believe there must be ring-fenced funding which is legislated for and guaranteed to outlive the life of this Parliament and the next one. That is the way forward. There was a question about what is in it for the hospitals and for the GPs. We opened a new surgical assessment unit two years ago. I have a two week waiting list now in my public clinics for a lump or bump to be removed or to see a surgeon. We discussed this last night at our meeting. What did we do to achieve that? We said we would deal with the normal stuff in reports. If a surgeon removes a lump and it is benign, he will send me the report and I will tell the patient or the patient will ring me. They do not need to go back to the surgeon for a follow-up appointment, which is wasting the surgeon's and the patient's time. We take it on. Okay, it is pro bono. In a new contract that must be valued and costed, because it is the right thing to do. However, the value of such joined-up thinking, shared responsibility and shared care, where GPs are equal to the consultants, is that patients benefit. I have a two week waiting list now for a query melanoma or a query cancer on the face. The patient is seen by a surgeon within two weeks. That is what is in it for us.