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 beg to move Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am seeking the Assembly's approval for the making of the draft statutory instrument (SI), which will amend the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004. The aim is to improve and strengthen the UK's clinical trials legislation, with the aim of helping to…
Deputy Speaker, thank you very much, and I thank Mrs Dodds for proposing the motion. Buildings, of course, are important for healthcare delivery, but I gently suggest that the workforce is even more important, so I begin by putting on record my eternal admiration for and thanks to the workforce at Craigavon Area…
I thank the Member for giving way. A quotation on the wall in my ministerial office reads: "If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin." Let me assure the Member that I am not waiting until everything is ready.
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I must say that I am heartened to note the near-universal acceptance of the fact that the issue is not just about the Ambulance Service but about a whole-system response to the pressures faced and about the flow through our hospitals. If I have time, I hope to return to some…
The draft Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 That the draft Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 be approved.
Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the proposer of the motion and the proposer of the amendment for bringing this important issue forward for debate today. One of the first Committees that I sat on when I was first elected was the Education Committee, and I became a fanboy of the late Professor Ken…
I will respond very quickly. The answer to that is no, there is not. However, we are tending, because of the pressures on the budget, to work hand to mouth and day to day and to live in the day, and we need to try to lift our heads up, difficult as it is, and start thinking a little bit more strategically. If there is…
I thank the Member for the question. The cross-border reimbursement scheme remains enduringly popular, certainly judging by the correspondence that I get from Members of the House, among others. Personally, I would very much like to reintroduce it. The Member talks about the Programme for Government commitment. I have…
I can certainly promise the Member that I am determined that all of us involved in health and social care delivery learn the lessons. The Member has given us a long list — a very long list, to my mind — of where things have gone wrong, and I certainly do not want that list to be added to on my watch. I gently say that…
I thank the Member for the question. We have had significant and ongoing engagement with the UK Government over the Hillsborough law and it falls into a broader set of policy considerations that are under way. The Member may be aware that we are consulting on a Being Open framework. I have also made a commitment to…
I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I absolutely agree. We have to start from a position of respecting everybody as an individual. Every individual has rights and views and should be listened to respectfully. That is the case in this, as with anything else that we deal with in the Chamber. I think back…
I thank the Member for his question. Media coverage today relates to existing gender identity and expression policies in the health and social care trusts. In relation to changing and toilet facilities, the policies refer to putting in place arrangements that everybody is comfortable with and which respect everybody's…
I cannot give the Member an absolute guarantee that there will be no further delays, because I cannot look into the future. I am not aware of and have not been briefed about any potential hiccups or banana skins between now and the completion and commissioning of the urgent care centre. It is a positive move. It will…
I thank the Member for his question. As he is aware, the minor injury units (MIU) at Ards and Bangor are making way for the urgent care centre, which will be within the curtilage of the Ulster Hospital; indeed, it will be adjacent to the new emergency department. I had the pleasure of visiting it some months ago. It…
Yes. There is a cocktail of reasons why there were 500 to 600 people — certainly that was the figure in the early days of January — in beds in our acute hospitals who were fit for discharge. If you delve into those reasons, you will see that beds, step-down beds, care beds and domiciliary packages are at the top of…
I thank the Member for his question. He will be aware that, over the winter, the flow through our hospitals was not as it should have been. Although the focus was on emergency departments, that was only where the problem manifested itself. The problem was at the back door, in getting patients who were medically fit…
I thank the Member for a very detailed question that I am not in a position to answer, as he may well have suspected. I am sure that he thought, "The Minister is waiting for a question about ambulance services and W45"; you have got me.
I thank the Member for his question. A lot of work has been undertaken in partnership with key charities and with families who have been affected by bereavement. That is because we want to ensure that arrangements are as sensitive and dignified as possible, so we have been listening. Thorough oversight continues to…
I thank the Member for her supplementary question. I believe that it is just not proving to be an attractive profession. As I said, this is not just for us; I think that two paediatric pathologists retired in recent years. We have made several efforts at recruitment, unsuccessfully. As part of our research into that,…
I thank the Member for the supplementary question. That is perhaps a sixty-four thousand dollar question to which I do not think there is an answer. However, I can tell you that I have been working recently with officials in my Department on how we will develop the all-island model. They are particularly keen to look…
It is important for any parent going through the terrible experience of losing a child to have the option of a post-mortem examination to help to provide answers about their loss and that, if they decide to proceed, they are fully supported at all stages of the process. Members will be aware that the current service…
I thank the Member for his question, which I will answer much more generally. As we walk through a very complex health and social care system, the number of doctors, nurses and consultants in just about every walk of life is probably not adequate. We need more. Yes, we need buildings. Yes, we need equipment. Yes, we…
I thank the Member for pointing out that disparity. To my mind, that is an inequity and a potential health inequality. Therefore, as I have said previously, it is something that I will wish to tackle. On my watch, we will always, I believe, have five geographic trusts, rightly or wrongly. Those five trusts should…
I thank the Member for his interest. I am absolutely prepared to go away and make a further push. It is important because the services are important. The range of services will be, more or less, as before, but it will be reconfigured differently in the temporary accommodation. At the moment, service delivery is via…