Mr. Liam Woods:

As for private hospital capacity, in the past week 800 patients were treated. That was the first week within which the arrangement was triggered. To give the Senator a figure, 30% of capacity is just under 600 beds. As I said in the opening statement, we have access to more by agreement with the private hospitals. Our purpose at present is to grow to the use of that capacity.

The kind of care being provided in the private system is primarily non-Covid. The intention is to move patients to the private system who need urgent surgery where the private hospitals have that capacity. We are not at present consciously sending Covid-related patients.

On the point relating to confidence, clearly in a system where we have significant staff absence, very significant surge and high community infection, we are concerned about risk. Staff across the system are working as well as possible to mitigate that risk but it would be unrealistic to expect the same outcome as in previous times, as the Senator suggests. We are very alert to that. I might ask my colleague, Dr. Hamilton, if she wishes to comment on that as well.