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Mr Robin Swann: Assembly records
All of Mr Robin Swann’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not qualifying, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I say to the Member that, if she has a direct complaint to make against Priory and Springhill surgeries, I will provide her with details of where she can make a complaint. She will be aware that the contract held by those practices is the initial route of access. My Department has established a GP access working group…
I thank the Member for her question. I will cover more than just North Down, if I may. At the start of questions for oral answer, I provided answers that were about the work that we have done on the GMS contract and being able to repurpose £5 million of that for the indemnity that GPs have accessed; for the move away…
I thank the Member. This issue was raised in the media last week, and it received some coverage at that point. The direct communication comes from the medical professional who has prescribed the medication, rather than my Department. We do not hold that level of detail on who the patients are. The national patient…
I thank the Member for her point. Whilst supply disruptions of some ADHD treatments have now been resolved, my Department is, like her, aware of ongoing supply disruptions that involve various strengths and preparations of other ADHD treatments across the UK, caused by a combination of manufacturing issues and the…
I have engaged with the Education Minister about that final point. It is about how we make sure that those allied health professionals, who have the best skills, are there to support our young people as they go through education. I do not think that I am breaking confidentiality by saying that, through the…
We have had engagement and joint working across the Department of Health and the Department of Education on how to support children and to make sure that the child is at the centre of that support. I would be keen for the Member to raise any specifics about a case or example. I would be happy to engage with the Member…
The Member identifies and is fully cognisant of the pressures on our social care workforce. I have a bid going into the transformation programme that sits with the Executive with regard to additional places for MDTs. That is for another 40 social work training places in Northern Ireland. I would like to make sure that…
It has been looked at. The issue of the bursaries and supports that we provide for students who study in Northern Ireland has been raised before. Unfortunately and not just because of financial restraints, any Northern Ireland student who decides to study outside Northern Ireland is not able to access those. That is…
Absolutely. I had a good conversation with our junior doctor committee this morning. It was about recognition: I recognise the strains and stresses that they are under and the remit that they have to seek further pay settlements with regard to industrial action. However, they acknowledged the challenging position that…
I thank the Member for his point. I believe that my Department has done everything that it can within the limits that we are under. I met junior doctors this morning and made it clear, with regard to the challenge of them coming forward with additional pay asks, that I do not have the financial capability to meet…
I can absolutely assure the Member that I have done so. As I said in an earlier answer to Mrs Dodds, I have an updated assessment of where we are on the elective care framework. I first published that framework in June 2021, and, with an ambitious investment of £570 million, it would have tackled waiting lists over a…
They are working their way across my desk. The Member will be aware that I have not accepted the Budget allocation that I was given because, although it is over 50%, it is a decrease of 2·3% on what we finished last year at when it is compared with where we were financially, including the allocation for pay increases…
I thank the Member for that point. My officials recently advised the Health Committee that these are the figures from the work on the original bid that we made. That bid included funding for 6,000 patients waiting over four years for a dermatology outpatient assessment; 4,400 patients waiting for knee and hip…
Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, with your permission, I will take questions 6 and 13 together. The £34 million that has been earmarked for waiting lists, which comes directly from the UK Government and has been long announced, does not cover even half of what is required to maintain the number of red-flag cancer…
I think that the Member is referring to the state-backed indemnity scheme that was initiated in GB. We were not able to replicate that directly in Northern Ireland, but, if we want to move to the enhanced package, which could be an indemnity scheme, I believe that our GPs can join that state-backed scheme. It supports…
The Member makes a valid point that is often raised here, which is that no part of our health and social care service works in isolation. It is about how all the parts come together to work. I recently announced an overarching framework, agreed between Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland and my Department, for how we…
The Member's question was about indemnity costs for GP services. As I said in my answer to question 1 on the revision of the GMS contract, as a result of those actions, an additional £38·9 million will be made available for repurposing, £5 million of which went to indemnity. The remaining £33·9 million has been added…
As I said earlier, I was pleased to recently give my approval to the 2024-25 general medical services contract, because I believe that the contract is an important step towards achieving greater stability across general practice. It makes significant progress, including the provision of dedicated funding for indemnity…
I am not sure that in all cases those additional payments are considered as a poor alternative. Some families value those payments and make full use of them. If the Member has specific concerns about anyone who is receiving those direct payments, I am happy to engage further with her in that area. As I said in…
I thank the Member. I do not know directly the facilities that he speaks of, but I can be assured that, if the Member is praising them, they and the service that they provide are worthy of praise. Rather than the establishment of a larger regional facility to look after the more complex cases, I would prefer to have…
As I said, we are seeing pressures in respite provision because we have a reduced number of facilities and staff and a higher level of acuity and more intense cases. I have not seen the message from the individual to whom the Member refers, but we recognise that there is more to be done. I am challenging our trusts on…
The Member raises a point about the repurposing of a number of our facilities to look after young people who need more-intense, long-term care. I recognise that having a reduced number of facilities and a reduced workforce has meant that our ability to provide placements for those young people was actually an ask for…
I thank the Member for his question. Short-break, or respite, care provides valuable opportunities for children and young people with complex needs to spend time away from their parents and primary carers, while also allowing parents and primary carers to have a break from their caring responsibilities. Across…