It has puzzled me for some time how dentists and orthodontists can be employed totally within the public service giving service only within that framework, while other consultants can have both a public health role and a private practice. I have come across cases where consultants are manipulating the hours and services of registrars and house officers, sometimes moving them from hospital to hospital to look after their own private patients. This is totally unacceptable, but consultants appear to be uncontrollable at the moment. A new agreement requiring consultants to give a certain number of years exclusively in the treatment of patients in the public health service is long overdue and should be looked at as a matter of urgency.