Ms Marie O'Shea:

It is where a GP has a situation where they make a referral. The referral may be by email. It is sent to the person who is the co-ordinator for termination of pregnancy services. They only work part-time. It is not picked up immediately, so there is a delay there. There are situations where a referral can be sent out for an ultrasound scan. Some centres are better than others. A reply may not be received. On many occasions, one discovers that they got it, but they did not have the people in place to give the appointment at the time, so the whole process starts again. Some of the referrals to the hospitals and into ultrasound services sometimes get lost, and I think if one knows the consultants personally in their own providing hospital, it is probably easier to pick up a phone then if one does not know them. That is the impression I get. That is what was coming through.