Stormont’s executive parties have been urged to get behind Health Minister Mike Nesbitt rather than “sniping at each other on social media”.
The call from Opposition health spokesperson Colin McGrath comes amid sustained pressure on hospital emergency departments caused by a seasonal spike in respiratory illnesses.
The Sinn Féin chair of Stormont’s health committee on Sunday called for an “urgent” meeting to discuss how the growing pressures can be addressed. The assembly isn’t due to resume a full business schedule until Monday January 12.
Liz Kimmins said she wanted MLAs to “work collaboratively” with Mr Nesbitt and his department to “support and stabilise services”.
“The rapid decline in care packages delivered over the winter period is also impacting on waiting lists and families who are badly in need of support to help take care of their loved ones,” she said.
The latest data from the Department of Health for January 3 shows that 1,348 people attended emergency departments across the region, with 885 waiting to be seen and 406 queuing for a bed.
A statement from Mr Nesbitt’s department said demand was “well in excess of what the health service can provide”.
It said similar pressures were being faced by the health services in the Republic and in Britain and that following discussions with both the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, the minister shared their “serious concerns about the impact of the immense pressures on staff and patients”.
The department said Mr Nesbitt had previously warned that “a very difficult winter period” was expected and that “longer-term solutions” were needed to address the capacity shortfall across health and social care, as set-out in the minister’s recently-launched three year plan.
It said “sustained investment and reform” was required but that an “extremely challenging” health budget meant “it was a struggle to maintain existing services, let alone fund large scale expansions and improvements”.
Ms Kimmins said her party would support “all efforts to improve and transform our health and social care system to deliver better health outcomes for people”.
But Alliance’s Danny Donnelly said it was clear Mr Nesbitt’s winter planning “has been a failure”.
The East Antrim MLA said Monday’s return of many people to work and education would “likely exacerbate the situation”.
“The health minister needs to address the assembly on this matter as soon as possible and I have written to him asking him to do just that,” he said.
“This situation has been exacerbated by the lack of a functioning government in five of the last eight years, so action is now needed, with reform of the system long overdue.”
Mr McGrath said health service personnel had been warning that the situation could quickly deteriorate.
“Instead of doing everything within their power to support our health service, executive parties have spent the past few weeks sniping at each other on social media, totally ignoring the collective responsibility they share in for the current state of things here,” he said.
“ To be brought to the brink by a spike in winter flu cases and other associated viruses shows how ill-equipped our health service is to deal with the most basic of challenges.”
