Dr. John-Paul Byrne:

As an example of the impact that has on the public and therefore on the hospital doctors we spoke to is - it was particularly striking in the past six months - the level of public anger that they have to face on a day-to-day basis particularly in emergency departments. The doctors talked about being perceived as the face of the healthcare system so if a patient or a family has an issue with the healthcare system it is directed at that doctor, and that doctor has no control over those issues. That was a huge stressor for many of the doctors we spoke to and that is how the overcrowding and the waiting list issues impact on their working conditions.