Debate contribution: Waiting Lists: Action Plan

Debate contribution by Ms Cara Hunter on 20 February 2024.

MLA

Ms Cara Hunter

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

20 February 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Waiting Lists: Action Plan

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4380776

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I thank the Minister for his contribution today, and I hope that I can get through this in five minutes. I thank every Member who has spoken today, and I will touch on some of their contributions and reflections. I thank Liz Kimmins, who touched on the importance of urgency in making tough decisions. Mr Donnelly mentioned the dramatic increase of 216% and highlighted how our lists worsen without intervention and the issues that that causes. Mr Chambers talked about the pain that our patients endure while waiting to be seen, and Gerry Carroll touched on the importance of paying our workers fairly, which is a view that I wholeheartedly share. Last week, we debated the vital need for a women's health strategy, and I acknowledge Mrs Diane Dodds's contribution about gynaecology waiting lists. I have spoken with many women in my constituency office, many of whom have awful cramps and heavy bleeding and are bent over in pain, yet they cannot be seen by a specialist. They cannot work, and it has completely ruined their life. As we have talked about before, that can be indicative of endometriosis or, worse, potentially cervical cancer, and they are left with the mental agony of that: the unknown and the uncertainty. Thousands of our constituents are waiting on lists and oftentimes left untreated and unmedicated. Sinéad McLaughlin touched on the importance of the postcode lottery aspect, as did Mr Robinson, and the issue of regional imbalance. Órlaithí and Deborah touched on the importance of children's mental health, an issue about which, I know, both of them care deeply. I, too, have talked previously about delays in the Northern Trust for access to CAMHS and the impact that that has on children and families. Waiting lists impact on the whole family. I am thinking of a mother in my constituency who has a child with special educational needs. The child had a mouth abscess and was left for months without being seen to receive oral healthcare. No one in the house was sleeping. The child was in agony. That is the real, family impact of those waiting lists. I also recall a lovely young woman with cancer whom I met in my constituency office. She had had cancer surgery, and there was an issue with her bowel. She came out of the surgery and was told that the surgeons would go back in and rectify the issue within a matter of weeks, but it was months. She was in agony. She could not sleep either. It is important that we touch on those personal stories here when we are given the opportunity. Ms Eastwood spoke eloquently about the challenges that face cancer patients. How have we got here? More importantly, what can we do to get out of this situation? That brings me to our amendment. The Minister rightly talked about maximising every opportunity that is given to us. We have seen that cross-border initiatives are extremely positive. Reinstating those cross-border schemes is a real step in the right direction, a positive direction, especially for people in my constituency who are waiting for hip and knee surgery. We also want to ensure that there is communication and that patients on health waiting lists are told where they are on their list and how long they will potentially have to wait. That issue has been raised with me. That will help them to understand where they are on the list and when they will be seen, because that impacts on their mental health. I congratulate my East Derry colleague Mr Robinson on his maiden speech. He really touched on the two-tiered approach: those who can pay do, and those who cannot suffer. In 2015, I went to America for surgery. I had had sepsis twice in a short period and was told by a specialist in Altnagelvin Area Hospital that, if I had sepsis a third time, it would not be good. I was also told in the same breath that I could be waiting three or four years for surgery. Thankfully, I have a very good mummy who paid out so that I could go to see family in America and have surgery. Thankfully, my health has been relatively good ever since. That is just my personal story about the uncertainty that is present when you do not know when you will get the healthcare that you desperately need. We cannot have the debate without a discussion about this place being up and down. Sometimes, I refer to the Assembly as being like a bouncy castle, it is up and down so often. We cannot deny that that has a direct impact on our constituents who, as we stand here today, are sitting in agony on waiting lists. Minister, if you have any opportunity to utilise cross-border schemes, my party, as a constructive Opposition, will work alongside you in the House to ensure that we deliver for our constituents and essentially alleviate their pain in any way that we can. I thank those who will support the amendment.

851 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:40 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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