Mr. Tony O'Brien:

We are actively recruiting but we are doing so in a very difficult employment market which is not just a domestic market but also an international one. I mentioned earlier the number of recently qualified general practitioners who I see tweeting from Australia and Canada. I am also very much aware of the numbers of our own graduate student nurses who will inevitably seek employment off shore in our nearest neighbour and so on. There has always been a pattern of people adding to their skills and experience by going abroad for a period of time. The difficulty at present is that they are not being attracted back. Part of that is the economic reality. The salary situation and the take-home pay effect of gross salaries, which is very different to our nearest neighbours, is having a significant impact. Unfortunately, that then creates the situation where the staff that we have are working under increased pressure, which makes it even more difficult to persuade others to come and join them.