Debate contribution: Health and Social Care: Private Sector
Debate contribution by Mr Mike Nesbitt on .
- MLA
- Mr Mike Nesbitt
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 18 November 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Health and Social Care: Private Sector
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4656151
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for the question. It is a very important point. I am sure that, from his former role, he is aware that the Department looked at the significant cost that it was incurring from the use of agency nurses. A decision was made to stop, and that was successful. I am told that there was a bit of scepticism when that proposal was first made, but it was delivered. The same focus will now be brought to bear on this issue. While I understand why we sometimes go to the independent sector, particularly to tackle waiting lists, it makes me very nervous. If you go to somewhere such as Kingsbridge Private Hospital on the Lisburn Road and you put in one day a week as, say, a surgeon or consultant, you are in a very fine and enjoyable working environment. The private sector, to a certain extent, can become something of a Trojan Horse, in that you could lose some of your best workers to it. They could start at one day a week, but they could decide, "Well, this is such a nice place to work that I'll do two days a week".
197 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.89).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.05 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.06 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.89 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.