Dr. Colm Henry:

This very much informs what work they do. It protects it and ensures they are not disrupted by the needs of unscheduled care. It is helpful if there is a clear division, and as the Chair points out, if they are off site, that clear division is in place. That determines in turn the model of care that plays an important part of this discussion and lends itself well to ambulatory and to people coming that morning for day case activity. It does not lend itself so well to people who may develop complications or who may have to stay a number of days, for obvious reasons. It also requires strong, supportive anaesthetic pre-assessment, which we have set up through our clinical programmes over a number of years, where people, instead of being assessed on the day in the hospital, are assessed at an outpatient appointment before any risks are identified or any tests are done. By the time they walk in that morning, they know they are ready for surgery and there are no unexpected surprises.