Debate contribution: Bangor and Newtownards Minor Injury Units: Closure

Debate contribution by Ms Connie Egan on 30 April 2024.

MLA

Ms Connie Egan

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

30 April 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Bangor and Newtownards Minor Injury Units: Closure

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4487769

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Health Minister, for coming to the Chamber today. The decision to relocate the Bangor and Newtownards minor injury units to the Ulster Hospital came from the No More Silos action plan. That was clearly stated in the consultation from the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust around the future provision of those services. The No More Silos action plan set out 10 key actions for rapid implementation to ensure that urgent and emergency care services across primary and secondary care could be improved. The No More Silos action plan was, importantly, in line with the Bengoa report recommendations. I asked the Health Minister about that in a question for written answer upon the restoration of devolution, and I was glad that he was able to clarify that. All parties signed up to Bengoa, which stated:

"The stark options facing the HSC system are either to resist change and see services deteriorate to the point of collapse over time, or to embrace transformation and work to create a modern, sustainable service that is properly equipped to help people stay as healthy as possible and to provide them with the right type of care when they need it."

Our health service is at crisis point, and I think that we all recognise that. Our hard-working health and social care workers are going above and beyond to keep patients safe. When the Bengoa report was published in 2016, it gave us this warning:

"The Northern Ireland Executive invests annually almost £4.6 billion, or 46% of its entire budget, in providing health and social care services for the people of Northern Ireland. If costs rise as predicted, with a 6% budget increase required annually simply to stand still, then we can expect the budgetary requirement to double to more than £9 billion by 2026/27 to maintain the current system. This is clearly not sustainable".

That is a quote directly from the executive summary of the Bengoa report. We are well on our way to that warning becoming a reality. Last week, the Northern Ireland Executive produced a Budget in which Health was allocated nearly £8 billion, which is just over 51% of the Executive's overall funds. Even with that being the case, the Health Minister has stated that it is not enough. That is in the context that Northern Ireland currently spends more per head of population on health than our counterparts in England but has the worst outcomes.

I understand that change can be difficult, but it is clear that the options in front of us for our health service are change or collapse. We simply cannot go on as we are.

My party and I will always follow the evidence when it comes to making decisions on our health service. We will not play politics with people's health and their lives. The Health Minister and the Bengoa report have called for leadership from elected representatives regarding decisions on our health service, and Alliance MLAs and councillors have not been found wanting. We have engaged with the trusts throughout the process and with consultants and doctors who work in the Ulster Hospital's accident and emergency department. Why did those who say that this should have been a decision for the Health Minister continually vote against the restoration of devolution? What was more important than health? This week, I met a consultant in emergency medicine at the Ulster Hospital who reported on the positive impact of the enhanced minor injury unit at the hospital. The service is now open 12 hours a day instead of eight and 365 days a year instead of being closed at the weekends, as it was in Bangor and Newtownards. That, again, has been backed up by statistics provided by the Department of Health. Since opening in September 2023, the enhanced minor injury unit in the Ulster Hospital has seen over 10,000 patients and received only five complaints. Patient surveys on the service have received excellent feedback, with over 97% of patients who have used the minor injury unit recommending it. The issues in accident and emergency care are, of course, of concern to us all, but I will take my leads from the experts who are telling us clearly that the long waiting times and backlogs of ambulances in A&E departments are due to a lack of care packages for those who cannot be discharged from hospitals, not the relocation of the minor injury units. The debate on the transformation of our health service requires leadership and following the evidence and the experts. I look forward to hearing clarification from the Minister later in the debate on some of the points that have been raised today. Alliance will support the Department of Health in transforming our health service by implementing the Bengoa commitments that all parties signed up to.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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