Dr Gabrielle Colleran

So when we were having those discussions, we said to the department, we saw that taking potentially 10 years.

And what the department said to us was that the consultant contract, that PAW consultant contract, once they had us confirmed for that Saturday working, which they do, they envisioned it could take up to 20 years.

So when I hear that 11% of departments are staffed, that they can do scheduled care on a Saturday already, that's actually implementation ahead of what the department, the HSE and ourselves expected.

But the reality is, David, when we have a third less staffing than the EU average, that gives us staffing for scheduled care across four days, not six.

And with a million on list, we have to put the capacity.

And that's why, David, healthcare isn't provided in ultimatums.

It's provided in collaboration.

We really want to sit down with the minister and talk about this so we can deliver the care for all our patients.

We have the same goals, David.

So I dispute that, David.

Like, I'm looking at my own roster here.

I'm working three weekends in a row at the end of June and the first two weekends in July.

Two of my best friends are surgeons in Vincennes,

And they're in the public every Saturday and every Sunday rounding on patients, but they never bill for it.

And indeed, I've given out to them and I've said, if you don't bill for it, it won't be recognised as happening.

There are consultants all over the country doing that.

What we need is the step down facilities and the beds so that when patients are ready to go home at weekends, those packages and those step down beds are available for them.

It's a whole of system approach, David.

And it's not about, you know, pitting people against each other.

It's about all of us.