Member's statement: Neurology Services: Reform
Member's statement by Mr Peter McReynolds on .
- MLA
- Mr Peter McReynolds
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 14 September 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Neurology Services: Reform
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5685271
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As someone who lives with multiple sclerosis and as chair of the all-party group on MS and neurology, I thank the Northern Ireland Neurological Charities Alliance for its report 'Left Behind: The Price of Inaction on Neurology Reform', which was launched just last week. The report estimates that neurological conditions cost Northern Ireland £2·72 billion every year, with delays to reform potentially costing our economy up to £869 million annually. It also estimates that an investment of £13 million — just £13 million — a year over five years could deliver significant economic benefits that could transform not only part of our health service but the lives of the patients who rely on it. Alliance has consistently raised the point about savings versus efficiencies in discussions about reform — we have done so time and again. If we refuse to invest strategically in reform, we risk continuing to absorb much greater costs in the long term, and that is before even considering the human cost, which is very real. There is a need to invest strategically in our health service and to focus on better health outcomes for the people of Northern Ireland. Neurology has the longest waiting times of any specialty in Northern Ireland, with 28,188 people currently waiting for a first neurology appointment, and some waiting for more than seven years. The report warns that "inaction is not a neutral position" but a political choice. Delays in diagnosis and treatment can lead to worsening health, greater demand for emergency care and fewer people being able to remain in work. The regional review of neurology services was commissioned in 2018, and its final report was published in 2025. Last year, Alliance responded to that consultation to outline the serious and systemic challenges in neurology services and support the four priorities set out in the review, which are: a person-centred service, developing additional workforce capacity within neurology, addressing gaps in existing services and using current resources more effectively. We strongly supported the vision but urged that the focus needed to be on delivery. Person-centred, evidence-based care cannot simply be a recommendation in a report; it has to be reflected in how services are designed and delivered, with the needs and lived experience of people with neurological conditions at the centre. The issues faced by people with neurological conditions go well beyond waiting lists. People living with conditions such as multiple sclerosis also deal with barriers to accessing services and wider support, including concerns with the personal independence payment system. Those issues have a direct impact on people's ability to manage their conditions and live independently. We need to move from review to reform and from short-term savings to better outcomes for patients and our health service as a whole.
459 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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