Debate contribution: Ambulance Handovers

Debate contribution by Miss Órlaithí Flynn on 24 March 2025.

MLA

Miss Órlaithí Flynn

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

24 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Ambulance Handovers

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4864689

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat.

I thank my colleague Linda Dillon for opening the debate on the amendment. She set out clearly the scale of the challenges that we face and the type of response needed. The points raised reflect what many of us hear time and again in our constituencies about ambulance delays that put lives at risk in a system that is under unrelenting pressure and with staff — for me, this is the crucial point — who are already doing their best in really difficult circumstances. I completely understand that the motion is extremely well intended. Given the financial position that the Health Minister and the Executive are in, it is always important to look and learn from other models of best practice. We can then look to introduce any new model within whatever financial options we have. Mark Durkan touched on the point. If we see a model that is working, that is proven to work and that we want to introduce, it comes back to this issue: how can we fully introduce it to do what it is designed to do, if the staff are the same as those whom we have always had? The staff are already working in really difficult circumstances, and, if we are potentially going to bring in this new model, we will have the same number of staff and the same number of blockages. Obviously, you mentioned —.

Yes.

Thanks very much for clarifying that. That is important. On the basis that we get the additional staff and then have the new model, it goes back to the point that Linda made. When we had that session at the Health Committee last year with the five chief executives of the trusts, they were banging on about the point, "Social care, social care, social care". It is then a two-pronged approach. If we can deal with the blockage of social care in the hospitals and if we can get additional staff in the EDs, in theory, this model would work really well, but it is about how you get to that point. The other wee issue that I want to raise is the staff themselves. It is interesting that Linda mentioned — obviously, it is just one example — the consultant whom she spoke with in the emergency department in Craigavon, where there seemed to be a bit of fear. That consultant said, "Listen, whatever you do, please do not put more pressure on EDs. Please do not put more patients into EDs". It is about how you get around all that. I was really glad to hear the Minister outline some of the work that he has been carrying out around the winter pressures and the workshops that are taking place. We will all look forward to the conclusion of the June workshop, if that is the final workshop, to hear what practical solutions he will be able, hopefully, to deliver coming out of that.

Yes.

I totally agree. Think about that in practical terms. I do not need to preach to you, because you have worked in the health sector. Even in that circumstance where there are wards' worth of people in the emergency department, on top of that, you get all the walk-ins and all the additional ambulances, so you get a continuous stream of emergencies coming in on top of what the staff are trying to deal with. I will bring my remarks to a close. Hopefully, something positive can come out of the June workshop, and we look forward to that. Hospital at Home in Daisy Hill in the Southern Trust, Phone First, the integrated clinical hub and the 40% reduction that Danny mentioned are all really brilliant things that are happening. It really is good work that is happening, but we need to find ways to do more of that. Again, I totally get that the motion is clearly well intentioned in respect of how we make this better. We all want to make it better, so, hopefully, in the next couple of months, after today's motion and after the workshops, we can find a way to bring forward workable, practical solutions that will make a change.

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

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:11 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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