Mr. Dean Sullivan:

I do not have much time, so I will be brief. To build on what the previous speakers said around networks and so on, as well as to reassure members regarding general practitioner, GP, buy-in and so on, there were extensive discussions with GPs and other staff groups as part of the 2019 agreement to secure their buy-in through the relevant unions. The discussions involved taking that agreement forward and the development of the networks. As my colleagues have stated, voluntary groups are an integral part of the local network arrangement. The whole point of what we are trying to get towards with populations of 50,000 is that we can do things more locally and join things up in a much more straightforward manner than one can nationally or regionally. This initiative is very positive in that space.

The Senator asked about infrastructure and whether it is limiting step in this context. Obviously, there will always be more demands for capital and resources in general than there are resources available, but I assure members that we have robust prioritisation processes in place to ensure that all the capital resources we have are directed to maximum value, such as investing in additional equipment or new buildings or tidying up existing buildings and so on. There is a process to address issues that arise. The Senator mentioned the issue of front door capacity. For a combination of reasons, that issue would receive a high rating in any prioritisation process. It would be daft for us, given the budget outcome yesterday around some of the revenue funding and so on, to have everything lined up in terms of an ability to put additional capacity on the ground but then find that we did not have the kit for staff to use or a safe, modern and appropriate building for them to work in. We work very hard to ensure the revenue and capital sides of the house are very closely aligned. One of the reasons the service planning process we will conclude in the coming weeks is being taken forward in parallel with the capital planning process is to ensure the two join up.