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.
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank Mr Donnelly and everybody who contributed to the debate. The statistics have been rehearsed. We can all translate them into an understanding of the human cost of substance use. That human cost impacts on individuals, families and communities. I acknowledge that every life lost is…
I accept the Member's proposition that people are continuously losing trust in the Belfast Trust because of incident after incident and problem after problem being reported. My language underplays the situation: what has been going on is incredible, with, as the Member said, four consultants working from home. I find…
I am afraid that the Member misunderstood me when I said that I was blissfully unaware. I meant that I was blissfully unaware when I was a patient presenting for a pacemaker and a defibrillator. As the Minister, I am not blissfully unaware. As for the other part of the question, that is something that I will take up…
I empathise with the Member and wish her son-in-law well. Anybody who is waiting for a procedure should be assured that what we are saying about this expert independent report is that, while there are issues of concern, the procedures that are being carried out are still safe. Obviously, however, this colours how…
The Member asked two things, starting with whether I will publish the report and lay it in the Library. I intend to do that; absolutely. The Member also asked how it could possibly have gone on for so long. Let me assure the House that that will be a key question when I meet the chair of the Belfast Trust. It is…
In December 2024, the strategic planning and performance group (SPPG) and the Public Health Agency (PHA) commissioned an independent, external expert team to carry out a review of the cardiac surgery service in the Belfast Trust. The review concluded in April of this year. The review team was specifically focusing on…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I also thank the proposer of the motion, the proposer of the amendment and every other Member who has contributed to the debate. I met the British Dental Association in February. I am grateful to it for its briefing on the challenges that it faces. My officials have continued…
We have a crisis team that goes in to help any GP service that feels that it is under pressure. So, yes, we look at the underlying reasons and try to come up with workable solutions.
Once again, a number are in the situation of considering contract hand-backs. Regrettably, there have been 16 hand-backs since the financial year 2023-24, with 11 in 2024-25. In 2024-25, one contract was removed. I hope that that answers the Member's question.
I thank the Member. Of course, I fully agree, and I point him to action 17 of the mental health strategy. Action 17 commits the Department to: "Fully integrate community and voluntary sector in mental health service delivery with a lifespan approach including the development of a protocol to make maximum use of the…
I thank the Member for the invite, which I was more than happy to accept. Like many of the other visits that I am so blessed to take part in, I really enjoyed meeting Turning Point NI, which is one of the many fantastic voluntary and community sector organisations doing inspiring, fantastic and wonderful work on the…
Are you allowed to say that a Deputy Speaker has just stitched you up? I think that the Member, if I heard her correctly, was talking about Encompass being in primary care: Encompass is in secondary care.
Obviously, it is a tense situation, and I do not want to make it any worse. What I will say about the £9·5 million that I have decided to implement and pay anyway is that some GP services genuinely struggle. We have seen contracts handed back over the past couple of years. I had a grave concern that, for example,…
I thank the Member for his question. We put a number of proposals on access to the General Practitioners Committee. For example, one was to make some appointments pre-bookable, so that, if you are caught in that speed dial-redial situation, you do not necessarily get to the point where, when you finally get through,…
I thank the Member for her question. That was put out to public consultation. We have had a vigorous and very welcome set of public responses, which is still being analysed by my Department. We are therefore not in a position yet to give a more detailed vision of the network with regard to which hospitals will provide…
I thank the Member. I give that assurance. I am very aware of the sensitivities involved, particularly for people living in the catchment area of the South West Acute Hospital. I am more than happy to provide that reassurance. On the point about ambulance capacity, it is my understanding that the Western Trust has…
I am aware of the claims, and I find them disturbing. First of all, no decision has been made about a permanent move. That decision rests with the Western Trust, not with me. The trust will make a decision, and I do not know what decision it will make. It will come to me, and it will be up to me whether to endorse it.…
I thank the Member, but I do not agree with him on that. There is a reason for that. I visited the urgent care centre and spoke to the staff, including consultants. The questions were asked, "What more we could do?", "What more could you do?" and "What would you change if you had a magic wand?". There was a…
I thank the Member for his question. I have been to the Downe Hospital, I think, two or three times, and what I really like about it — if I may use the expression — is the vibe. There is really good feel on walking into that hospital, and that is created by the wonderful staff who work there. I have visited many of…
I do not have the exact number to hand. We have made great strides in recruitment and getting away from using agency staff, so we are much more efficient. However, I am afraid that I will have to write to the Member with the exact number that she seeks.
The South Eastern Trust reports that, as of 12 May 2025, 929 social workers were employed across adult and children’s social work services, which equates to 861 whole-time equivalents. On 31 March 2023, there were 784 whole-time equivalent social workers in the South Eastern Trust. On 31 March 2024, there were 807. I…
The Member alludes to a slight variation; £400 million to £500 million is not, in my estimation, a slight variation. It is not a slight variation in the view of the trusts, the Department of Health or, I imagine, the Department of Finance. Those are not slight variations; they are major variations. The trusts made an…