Dr. Grace O'Malley:

We do not have accurate figures at present. It is only within the past month or two that we have formalised our assessment and we now note it.

I will respond to some of the questions and then my colleagues will comment. We are a tertiary hospital and all referrals from GPs, area medical officers or other hospitals come to a consultant, generally to a paediatric consultant or sometimes into endocrinology. We then receive referrals from a hospital consultant. Approximately 12% of our referrals come from the accident and emergency unit; 10% come from orthopaedics and then the majority, 40% to 50% come from general paediatrics and endocrinology, cardiology and a few other services.