Dr. Colm Henry:

Quickly on the issue of cancellations, the Deputy will know from previous hearings on our winter pressures that we took exceptional measures to protect the people waiting for protracted times on trolleys in emergency departments. We also, through our daily meetings right through from Christmas to recently - I know this from direct engagement with the hospitals - took great care to protect time-critical surgery, which is predominantly cancer. It was exceptional for that to be cancelled on pressure grounds from emergency departments and likewise for chemotherapy. We continued these time-critical services in as undisrupted a way as possible because of their clinical significance, but also because of the stress it can cause patients.