Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran:

Hospitals really have to specifically take doctors who can perform these cases and train them. In future we will have to revamp. As Dr. Peter Boylan mentioned, there was a stage when the hospitals were giving certain services on contract to private agencies. As a result, most of the cases went to the private agencies and there were hardly any cases to be trained within the hospital, except a few hospitals like St. George's, which I mentioned. We retained the services throughout. That practice will come back again because now those responsible are reviewing the cost. The cost of providing the services in the hospitals will be far cheaper compared to private agencies. It is nothing much to do with doctors' personal wishes; in many cases it is to do with how the services are contracted. I hope it will reverse itself.