Mr. Tony Canavan:

I would not describe it as the closure of the service. The service in Sligo was being provided by two consultant anaesthetists and other staff, but led clinically by those two consultants. Both of those post-holders resigned, which left a gap in the service. We would not normally expect two people in the same service to go at the one time, but that is what happened and it left us with a gap. We have put interim arrangements in place to try to fill that gap and ensure that, insofar as possible, patients are seen. For example, we are engaging with the private hospital in Sligo to see if some patients can go there and we are also working through the NTPF to see if it can provide a source.