I compliment the great work done in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. However, last Sunday a mother and child travelled up here, stayed in a hotel and went to Crumlin for their appointment on Monday only to be told, because of staffing issues, that they had to go home and come up again on Friday. One can imagine the distress, hardship and anxiety this caused the mother and child. This happens regularly. While I compliment the great work done in Crumlin, why are so many appointments being stopped at the last minute because of what are called staffing issues? Surely this is a very serious situation and the Minister for Health should be involved in rectifying it.

The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot comment on any individual case. I do not have the full information on the case to which he refers, and even if I did, I could breach confidentiality in commenting on it. Nonetheless, I understand the distress that would be caused to anyone making a long journey for an appointment only to find out the next day that it has been cancelled. Staffing levels in our health service are at their highest for many years, but I am not in a position to explain why in this particular case there was a cancellation.