All of Mr Mike Nesbitt’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I understand, and it is no surprise to me, that that is the Member's ideological position. What is also normal and natural, and something that he did not mention, is that young people can sometimes feel very confused about who they are, about their body, and about who they are supposed to be, and I am empathetic to…
Those were not specific criteria for any young person to engage with King's College in London. I simply suggest to the Member that he reads Cass and what Cass had to say when she came here to review our gender identity service. The whole focus is moving away from medication or, indeed, body-altering surgery towards…
In December 2024, the Executive unanimously backed my request that we join the UK-wide indefinite ban on puberty blockers for new patients under 18 being prescribed by private prescribers. There was no voice raised against the idea that we would then invest heavily — £806,000 — in the gender identity service.…
Those reasons will be outlined by the people who are bringing the judicial review against the clinical trial. The Member can certainly criticise me. I am not standing here feeling that I have done particularly well by the trans community. I imagine that that is their perception of me, but I repeat that my objective is…
I apologise to the Member because I cannot remember the exact names of the two people whose names are attached to the formula, but there is certainly an accepted formula in clinical trials for determining whether a young person is fit to give their consent.
First, to qualify, you would have to have been known to the relevant authorities, as it were, for two years; you would have to have given deemed consent; you would have had to have given your consent and been seen to have the capacity to do so; and you would have needed the consent of at least one parent.
No Northern Ireland child is involved in the trial yet. When the issue came up, the idea of a trial was a concept — there was no detail to it — and the Ulster Unionist Party supported the principle of a clinical trial. Clinical trials have been around for a very long time and they have been, by and large, extremely…
I ask for your indulgence, Mr Speaker. I would be most grateful for a short extension to the time permitted, given that it is such an important and sensitive issue. Let me start by saying that I fully appreciate that the debate around gender is incredibly complex and emotive. Regardless of how strongly individual…
Legislative Consent Motion: Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill That this Assembly endorses the extension to Northern Ireland of the provisions within the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill.
I thank Mrs Cameron and welcome the opportunity to outline my thoughts on primary care. Mrs Cameron mentioned the Public Accounts Committee's 'Report on Access to General Practice in Northern Ireland', and I welcomed the report. We have considered the findings and the recommendations in full, and we will now work in…
Deputy Speaker, thank you. Thank you to the Opposition for tabling the motion, and to everybody who has contributed to the discussion. Stroke is a major health issue. Approximately 3,000 people are admitted to hospital every year after a stroke and more than 40,000 survivors of stroke live in our community. As Members…
Thank you very much, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I cannot imagine that there is a single MLA who is not acutely aware from their constituency work of the strength of feeling on the issue. I thank the movers of the motion and the amendment and everybody who has contributed in a way that demonstrates knowledge of…
I hope that the Member realises that it is an independent inquiry, so it would be entirely inappropriate for me to try to impose some sort of timeline on the Chair. My understanding is that it is relatively imminent, as in March/April. I have to warn Members that it will be utterly shocking. It will potentially be one…
I thank the Member for that question. I believe that seven patients are still at Muckamore. Four of them have pathways to a new placement that should be effected by the end of this month potentially or, if not, by the end of next month. Work continues to find placements for the other three patients. Numbers have…
At the risk of correcting the Member, I believe that I implemented the contract for this financial year. The reason that I did that was simple: we had several million pounds — £9·5 million, I think, from memory — of additional money that those GP surgeries needed, not least because of the imposition of the additional…
As I said to Mrs Guy, we are about to start negotiating the new contract with the BMA General Practitioners Committee. Of course, the neighbourhood model and the shift left will be absolutely central to that. My officials have, however, been talking to GP federations about the shift-left model for some time.…
First of all, I am glad that the Member had a good experience. That underlines my belief that it is wrong to say that the Health and Social Care system in Northern Ireland is broken. Many of the pathways to access healthcare are problematic. However, once you get there, by and large, you get extremely good care. When…
I speak from memory, but I believe that we totted up capital investment requirements of £3 billion. What we anticipate from the Budget is enough to cover only essential maintenance and such services. I agree with him that Craigavon Area hospital is long overdue a significant capital investment. So is Altnagelvin Area…
I agree with him. There is solid research that says that a lot of our students who go away to, for example, England, Scotland and Wales tend to stay there and not return. That is a terrible loss. The Member may be interested to hear that we are also looking at a return on service arrangement whereby, if we contribute…
The Member makes a reasonable point. Some of the brightest minds on these islands and a number of high-performing individuals apply to our local medical schools, and that is a testament to the quality of our young people, who are all potentially future leaders. In total, we approve 236 places annually at Queen's and a…
It would not be sensible for me to stand up in public and try to negotiate the negotiations, if I may use that phrase. The first meeting is imminent, and it will take what it takes to get where we all need to be.
I thank the Member. I am well aware that access to primary care is an issue and is not confined to her constituency. There are many groups that will be central to delivering the neighbourhood model that we want to start rolling out on 1 April, but none will be more important than GPs and GP surgeries. I am delighted…
I have to review that recommendation against all of the other recommendations in that report and those in every other report. I understand that Members will pick out a specific condition, a specific service or even a specific hospice and advocate for it. It is right and proper that they do that, and it is something…