Debate contribution: Health Crisis
Debate contribution by Mr Alan Robinson on .
- MLA
- Mr Alan Robinson
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 3 February 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- Health Crisis
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4774562
Read the official Assembly record
Text
OK, thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I am on pretty safe ground today when I say that the crisis in the health service is not a new challenge that has just appeared on the horizon. It has been building for many years not just in the Province but across the UK. We have multiple debates in the Chamber about our health service, but, so far, we have not seen a lot of the changes that we wish to see. The facts for this place speak for themselves. Waiting lists in the Province are the worst in the UK. There are half a million people on waiting lists to have a first appointment and tens of thousands of people have been waiting for more than a year — some much longer — for treatments and surgeries. Our constituency surgeries are crammed with examples of people who are living in pain, parents who are unable to care for their children or individuals faced with having to leave their job because of their health needs. We have debated that, but, so far, we are not seeing the changes that we need. Our mental health services in Northern Ireland are in a dire state. The Province has the highest rate of mental illness in the UK. We have young people who have been waiting for months and even years for mental health interventions. What about the health workforce? There are nurses, doctors, paramedics and care staff who are exhausted and demoralised. There are staff who are overworked and stretched to the very bone. People will even say that the health service is surviving on goodwill. Some staff are being asked to do the impossible every day. I speak to staff, and some are leaving the profession because they cannot take any more or because they can receive better pay and working conditions elsewhere. We have debated that too, but we are not seeing the big changes. Access to a GP is in crisis, as is access to A&Es. Through no fault of its own, the Ambulance Service is in crisis. Social care is in crisis. Millions of pounds have been lost on the new maternity and children's hospital project, and there are new revelations about millions being spent on consultants, and so the circle continues. We are not seeing the changes that we need to see, and the health service is awash with multiple reviews — reviews on top of reviews, strategies and consultations, including the Bengoa report. They have all outlined the changes that we need. Members will have been a little bemused to see the Department complaining that over £8·4 billion in resource in next year's draft Budget will be insufficient and hundreds of millions short. It may be one thing to argue that you are under pressure to make sure that you come in on budget for the end of the current financial year, but that is £8·4 billion up to the end of March 2026. There ought to be ample time to prioritise spend. Not everything that the Department invests in is in front-line care. Professor Bengoa put it relatively politely when he was here in the autumn: if there is not a changed approach, the Department will soon be asking for 100% of —.
OK. Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker.
553 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 (0.94).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.64 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.36 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:53 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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