Mr. Niall Redmond:

Reflecting on the approach of the expert panel, part of what it needed to do was to try to gather a set of evidence and inputs as quickly as possible to round out a very comprehensive report. It engaged quite extensively with the various stakeholders and representative bodies, such as the patient advocacy service. It met with a number of those bodies as well as with nursing home staff and representatives of residents. It reflects the approach the panel needed to take in respect of using a good and robust methodology to deliver a report and the learning from that report as quickly as possible. It is important to say that throughout the implementation structures that have been established, there is a stakeholder reference group. Members include nursing representatives and advocacy representatives from the national patient advocacy service and Sage Advocacy. Therefore, there is an ongoing opportunity to feed in the views from the resident and family perspectives. That is an important part of that process as we move through the implementation and ensure that the voice of residents is represented in those structures.