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Mr Robbie Butler: Assembly records
All of Mr Robbie Butler’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
To be fair, I understand the fears. I worked in that sector, providing emergency response at a time when it was important to have the right people in the right place at the right time. With regard to any reconfiguration of services, they are all clinician-led and will be subject to a rigorous process between the…
That is a live topic, not only at the SWAH, evidently. The SWAH remains an important part of the Northern Ireland hospital network, continuing to provide a type-1 emergency department, intensive care, maternity services and a range of elective services. The elective overnight stay centre provides a range of surgical…
I thank the Member for her question. I made an early commitment to visit as many sites as I could, and the SWAH was high up that list. I thank the board and those who showed me what they had during that visit. They were also able to demonstrate some of the pressures, some of which have been well versed in the Chamber.…
I thank the Member for her question. The continued expansion of elective overnight stay capacity at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) is a priority for my Department. The Western Health and Social Care Trust recently recruited a new gynaecology consultant, who will deliver two additional inpatient sessions and one…
I thank the Member for that very good question. Whilst we have to be fiscally responsible and value for money has to apply, the reality is that, even in the private system, there is a limit on capacity, theatre time and access to consultants. The cross-border scheme works for some people who live closer to the border…
I thank the Member for her question. In answer to questions earlier, I said that one of the good things about serving on multiple Committees in this place is that we get to understand the pressures that everyone else faces. It is probably an early commitment of mine to try to ensure that, as far as we can, there is…
I thank the Member for his question and for his long-term service on the Health Committee. We absolutely have to deal with patients who have had to wait far too long, but, as Minister, I recognise that we also have to address the underlying capacity problems. That is why funding has been confirmed for additional…
I thank the Member for raising that matter. All those things remain under constant review, because we have to ensure that public expenditure on provision lines up with policy. The health service exists to provide care for our people, however. Since becoming an MLA, I have been inundated with questions from people who…
I thank the Member for the question. He is quite right to raise the issue, because anyone in pain and agony on a waiting list may have to navigate what may seem like a complex system. There has been some uptake of the cross-border initiative but maybe not to previous levels. I give credit to my predecessor, who…
I thank the Member for North Belfast for his question. Approximately 2,200 patients are currently waiting for a routine primary hip replacement across all trusts. That is an 18% reduction in overall waits compared with March 2025, when 2,700 patients were waiting for that procedure. The vast majority of those patients…
It is essential that we reduce waiting times, but we must also improve support for people while they wait, which is what the Member talked about. Services need to ensure that referrals are reviewed according to clinical need and that people whose conditions worsen can be identified and assessed more quickly. Better…
I thank the Member from East Belfast. I know that the Member is significantly interested in the topic, so I was not surprised to see it pop up. It is also close to my heart. My Department has secured £2·3 million in recurrent funding to increase neurology capacity and to begin reducing unacceptably long waits. The…
I thank the Member for welcoming me warmly into the role. Absolutely, you can reach out with those issues. I remember the question that you posed and the pressures that are faced in that paediatric setting. You are quite right: facial palsy has myriad conditions that underpin it right through the age brackets. I…
I thank the Member for that detailed question. This is a developing service, and the SPPG has entered into wider arrangements with the Belfast Trust and South Eastern Trust to develop those services in a better way. Unfortunately, across the trusts, the people interface service is not done in the same way. It is a…
I thank the Member for her question. It is a fair question to ask. When we look at the Budget allocations and the pressures that we are under, it is absolutely right that every penny needs to be accounted for. One could say that much more needs to be done. The work that the SPPG has done with the limited funding that…
I will do my best to answer those three questions, if I can remember what the three of them were. I pay tribute to Janet Robb, who is a phenomenal advocate who is passionate about those services. She has contributed marvellously, as can be seen and heard on the nidirect web video. It is important to understand the…
I thank the Member for his question. A facial palsy regional planning group was established in September 2023. That group developed an action plan, which included the establishment of a local and regional pathway to assist with assessment and treatment. In addition, a new nidirect web page was developed in order to…
I thank the Member for his question. When we are talking about hospitals in our constituencies and the very matters that Members are allowed, through the Principal Deputy Speaker, to raise, we should evidence that with passion, as the Member did. However, in response to the first part of the question, I suggest that,…
I thank the Member for her very kind words. There was no sandwich there, to be fair. The Member has illustrated what can happen when you do not bring your community with you, and I accept that. I do not accept or recognise the points about Minister Swann and Minister Nesbitt. I have worked with both of them. They are…
I thank the Member for South Antrim for his warm words. Indeed, he reached out to me and was probably one of the earliest to show confidence in my ability to take up some portfolios in politics. I will be forever grateful for that, Dr Aiken. It is well documented that not all clinicians will agree on all matters.…
I thank the Member for Upper Bann. Mrs Dodds, thank you for your message: again, you were one of the first out of the traps. I recognise that I will get some "Dodds sandwiches" over the next seven or eight months, because the Member has a habit of saying something nice at the start, giving you something desperately…
I thank the Chair of the Health Committee for what is, I am sure, the first of many questions that he will pose to me. Also, thank you for the welcome. I believe that we are facing in the same direction and that everyone in the Chamber is facing in the same direction. I have inherited and commend the Department for…
I thank the Member for North Belfast for asking a very reasonable question. A lot of things in recent weeks have misrepresented the health transformation journey. Bengoa has not been paused. If, at some stage, anybody cares to ask me a question on that, I will take the House through the litany of changes that was…
I thank the Member not only for his kind words today but for being one of the earliest to contact me privately to wish me all the best. I believe that, for over 10 years, health has been a priority for many Members, be that in their service to their constituents or because they have a particular interest in the health…
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your welcome. I am not the first Health Minister to hail from Lagan Valley. I pay my respects to my predecessor, Mike Nesbitt, who performed a fantastic function as Health Minister and is responsible for bringing me to the House. Mr Speaker, I welcome this first opportunity to stand here as…