LETTERS AND COMMENTS

nationally to support development elsewhere. Of course, one size will not fit all and some areas, notably Scotland and perhaps the South West of England, will be better served by local gener-al surgeons continuing to undertake the GPS. In such centres, training adult general surgery trainees to undertake GPS is a logical step. Provision should be made to enable any general surgeons who may choose to undertake this work to get the training they require in their local DGHs. What is clear is that strong and decisive leadership is required in order thatwe canmakeuse of the limited time avail-able to plan the workforce that will be needed, put in place the necessary training systems and agree funding streams for new appointments. Accurate data will be necessary to allow correct decisions to bemade.We feel discussions should be taking place between all the specialties involved, particularly between paedi-atric and general surgeons and we would welcome the opportu-nity to contribute to these discussions as future consultant pae-diatric surgeons