Mr. Stephen Teap:

I would honestly say they are not working in a safe environment. The stress levels they are all going through are public knowledge. We read about it every day. We have heard a great deal about people involved in clinics around the country and within CervicalCheck and that the support just is not there for them. That, of course, creates risk for them but also for the patients and the people who rely on the system. Mandatory open disclosure is important. If it is not done, how will we ever get to the bottom of the problems that exist? An error, for example, may take place due to being overworked, tired, or understaffed.

Those issues need to come to light so they are addressed. If an error of some description is inflicted on patients due to staff being overworked, tired or understaffed then they need to be made aware of that also.

In terms of medical professions having a voice, they are very limited in what they can say. When we say patient representatives and medical professions work together, it is in our interests, your interests and everybody's interests in this country that these issues are highlighted at a very early stage. If medical professions are coming out and giving a view from the ground up, they are not listened to. If patient representatives are doing it without the backing of the media then they will not be listened to either. This is why a combination of both voices is the key, in my opinion, to addressing these issues. Unfortunately, we live in a world where we still work to a very Victorian style system where everything seems to be dictated to from the top down and very little attention is given to the voices from the ground up. Probably the biggest failure in our healthcare system is not listening to the voices on the ground. I mean the people who have to walk into medical centres and rely on our healthcare system but also the people who have to work within the healthcare system - the doctors, nurses and administrators. I mean everyone. It is quietening those voices that really is the backbone to a lot of our problems. We really need to start looking at those voices.