Mr. Paul Reid:

I apologise as the Chairman asked about innovation and I meant to touch on it. The winter plan review process that we have kicked off across nine hospitals has been broadened, with the agreement of the Minister, to consider best practice in respect of a range of issues. This does not just take in emergency departments but the relationships between emergency departments, acute and community care. There has been strong feedback from clinicians, nurses and the general work force about variability of processes across acute care. There can be significant variance in decision-making in emergency care. There is some good practice and the winter plan demonstrates where that is. We need to capture that, and this relates to the issue we touched on earlier with respect to consistency in models. Last week. I spent a little time in emergency departments and one can see different practices, including some really good examples. It is about getting the best and making sure those practices are implemented. I will not be able to do that in all hospitals but the process we have kicked off will give us a greater depth of insight and best practice.