Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we as a department, through our work with the health boards, do ensure a certain level of service in the communities. If we were to entertain deficit recovery initiatives from health boards that were going to eliminate a sector of that service, thereby creating hardship for constituents in that region or that community, we would have to seriously look at that because that would in turn impact another area or region in our overall system.

When I used the example of the very much publicized amalgamation of the pediatrics and surgical wards at Stanton, for example, that proposal was presented to the department, which we in turn presented to the MLAs. It was stressed to us very clearly that it was an efficiency measure and as a result of changing numbers and changing ways of delivery services, it would not negatively impact the access of people requiring that service. That is why we were entertaining that. Subsequently, of course, we found out that there was consultation that had been missed in that process.

So without the Member giving me a specific type of service he might be referring to, we do not want to diminish the core services delivered currently in the various communities and regions. Thank you.