Professor Louise Kenny:

I am conscious of the time so I will be brief. Returning to the governance issue and the national maternity strategy, which is the basis of the discussion today, the hospital groups were designed so that there is a major hospital within every group and, within that situation, a single accountable individual. It can be a clinical director, a master or whatever one wishes to call them. That governance system will work well. It is fundamentally important that they must have both clinical and executive authority with a ring-fenced budget. It is what the maternity strategy calls for and it is what best evidence, both nationally and internationally, proves works. Sadly, it has been lacking from CMH.

There is a final matter I wish to flag. We have not mentioned it today, but I am a clinical academic and the general move towards an academic health science model would be welcome. It will increase innovation in both clinical care and care provision. International best practice demonstrates that. Ireland has been slow and very much behind the curve to adopt an academic health science model. In the South South-West Hospital Group we like to think we are ahead of the curve in delivering on that vision. We should welcome it.

I will let Dr. Boylan conclude in the limited time left.