Policy values accountancy over people

The dire warning from the master of the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street is chillingly stark: overstretched services means cutting corners, which puts safety at issue and compromises patient care.

Recently, we have had graphic illustrations of what Dr Declan Keane means in the broader sense, from the death of premature baby Bronagh Livingstone last December to last week's appalling death of Róisín Ruddle whose crucial heart surgery was cancelled.

What is central to those tragic deaths, is a government policy which rates book-keeping to be more important than the health and safety of people.