Professor David Keegan:

The short answer is "Yes". The Deputy gave the long answer. You have to mind your team. If there is anything that has been very stark, and Ms Ryan, Dr. Rogers and Mr. Mullaniff will speak to this, it is particularly the case in front-facing healthcare. I am not here as an apologist. It is just the reality on the ground. We could do Saturdays, and have done in the past. I would say every eye unit in the country has had Saturday waiting list initiatives. There is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around them because you bring down your waiting lists. Patients who have been waiting for surgery for ages are happy because they get the surgery done. It is a very satisfying procedure to do. I am very lucky that I get to do it. My colleagues feel the same, but to do that in a sustainable way, you must do it differently. We have an acute nursing shortage in our hospitals and ophthalmology is not immune to this. We need to look at it in the context of the cost of living, recruitment, where our hospitals are located and how we make sure the terms and conditions are right for our teams so that they can deliver that care. It comes back to sustainability. If we can do that, we have a sustainable model. I agree with the Deputy. When we have facilities, we should ensure they are running for longer but we should not stretch our staff until we get the staffing.