Dr. Clive Kilgallen:

I suppose it is an acute and chronic problem. There was always a difficulty with surgeons getting access to theatre time. I am on the consultant appointments committee and this is something that comes up in the meetings when we are looking at job specifications and proposed jobs plans. Sometimes we look and see that surgeons only operate once a week and say that they should be doing more theatre time. This is a thing on which we are always picking up. Covid has made it worse in that the reconfiguring of hospital beds to allow for Covid areas has meant it is harder to get access to theatres. Some theatre space has also been reconfigured into ICU space. An existing shortage has been made worse by the Covid crisis and has really thrown a spotlight on it. It is a matter of physical space, theatre nurses and staff; it is obviously not just a matter of consultants. There is a particular problem with a shortage of theatre nurses. That is a major issue.