Debate contribution: Neurology Services

Debate contribution by Mr Colin McGrath on 9 December 2025.

MLA

Mr Colin McGrath

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

9 December 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Neurology Services

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5296303

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am pleased to take part in the debate, not least because it impacts on and reflects the needs of thousands of people across the places that we represent and the many thousands in their families who support them every day. The crisis that we face is not new, and it is certainly not hidden. It was laid bare in the regional review of neurology services, which showed that we have a system that is underfunded, understaffed and sometimes unable to meet even the most basic of needs. With almost 20,000 people waiting for a first neurology appointment and more than 11,000 waiting for a review, waiting times in some trusts are now stretched, as has been explained, to nearly five years. That is not the case in my area, for some reason, but I am sure that we will get the detail on that later. Even in recent weeks, I received a deeply moving message from a family whose loved one was among the deceased patients of Michael Watt. They reminded me that it has been seven years and seven months since the Department first announced the review of his deceased patients. Still the families have no clarity, and still they wait. They described the unprocessed grief, the daily torment and a profound sense of abandonment. The fact that people who have already suffered immeasurable loss are left searching for answers that they should not have to fight for tells us everything that we need to know about the need for urgency in turning this round and changing the service. That urgency is echoed across the broader neurological community. According to Parkinson's UK and the NI Neurological Charities Alliance, 76% of people with neurological conditions have faced delays in accessing healthcare; 77% report negative impacts on their mental health; and 74% say that delays have worsened their physical condition. Families have told us bluntly that, without timely care, treatable conditions become chronic, lives shrink and hope diminishes. One patient said:

"I haven't had a pain-free days in years."

Another said:

"My reviews used to be every six months. I haven't been seen in nearly a year."

In the starkest of terms, we hear of individuals being driven to suicide attempts, because the system that was meant to support them could not respond. The system is in crisis, because we have not resourced or prioritised neurology as a core part of our health service. Nowhere is that clearer than in the case of Produodopa — I hope that I have pronounced that correctly — which is the first major new treatment for advanced Parkinson's in decades.

It is approved across the UK. It offers transformative, stabilising symptom control for those with severe motor fluctuations, but it is entirely unavailable here, not because clinicians doubt it or the evidence is lacking but because Northern Ireland does not have the workforce, the specialist teams or the infrastructure to deliver it. Patients here watch others in the UK begin to benefit while they remain stuck, with no options left. When the possibility of a better life exists but is out of reach simply because the system is not staffed to provide it, that is an absolute moral failure.

The regional review showed us the path forward. It said that we should have a properly staffed workforce; a person-centred model of care; designated points of contact for every patient; community neurology teams in every trust; clear pathways; joined-up care; access to psychology and rehabilitation; and modern treatments delivered safely and consistently. However, seven years after that review was commissioned, we are still debating its implementation. There could be no more important moment than this, on the last sitting day of 2025, for the Assembly to act. As we close the doors on yet another year, thousands of families cannot close the door on their fear, deterioration and unanswered questions. They cannot wait for another year, another new plan or another new promise. They need action, now — not in 2026 and not in due course; they need it today. Solidarity is expressed through decisions that honour the suffering that we have heard about and from which we can build a service that is worthy of the people for whom it exists to serve. They are the families who are waiting for answers, the patients waiting for care and all those who cannot afford another year of delay. Hopefully, we will hear how the Minister and the Executive are going to act. I support the motion and the amendment.

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

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