Debate contribution: Neurology Services

Debate contribution by Mr Alan Robinson on 9 December 2025.

MLA

Mr Alan Robinson

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

9 December 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Neurology Services

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5296341

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. We got there. We thank the signatories to the amendment. We will certainly support the amendment, and we very much value and welcome its inclusion today. It is important to say that we do not table motions to poke anyone in the eye or to play a game of one-upmanship. We table motions because our constituents and the organisations that frequent these Buildings, as Diane mentioned, ask us to highlight the issues that people are very concerned about, and the appropriate forum in which to do so is the Chamber. On the final plenary day of 2025, no apology should be given for debating health issues in the Chamber, given the importance of these matters. Access to neurology services is important because the conditions affect tens of thousands of people; it is an issue that people want to see escalated by the Department of Health. The scale of the conditions, which now affect tens of thousands of local people, is frightening. Like all of us, I find myself feeling quite frustrated and down when I read and speak about the stats, especially when, because of our aging population, there will be an increase in people who present with issues such as Parkinson's disease, MND and epilepsy. Approximately 20,000 people are on a waiting list to see a neurologist: 11,000 of those people have been waiting for over a year and over 11,000 people are overdue for a review appointment. Only 25 full-time equivalent consultants work in the field, and there is very little emergency 24/7 cover beyond that offered at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Only two of 138 core medical training places are allocated to this field, which restricts the ability to train the next generation. There is a need for substantial growth in the allied health and nursing workforce. The statistics do not make for good reading. Is it any wonder that the Economist Intelligence Unit stated in 2024 that, if you are ever in Northern Ireland, pray that you do not need a neurology appointment? That at a time when 40,000 people are living with such issues, including 22,000 people with epilepsy; 5,400 with MS; 4,000 with Parkinson's; and 140 with that horrible condition MND. I acknowledge the Northern Ireland Neurological Charities Alliance, which has repeatedly warned that delays in neurology services are adding to the worsening mental health of patients and feelings of being abandoned after diagnosis. Diane referred to that in her opening remarks. The impact of the delays is multilayered, with worse patient outcomes, adult mental health, worsening strain on emergency services, workforce burnout, with staff in the field stretched to breaking point, and geographical inequity, with the concentration of expertise being at the Royal Victoria Hospital and no consultants in the Northern Trust. However, it would be wrong of me not to acknowledge that the Department has recognised many of those challenges. The recent neurology review recommendations created a road map to work our way out of the mess, with four key areas in the report to drive forward improvements. That elephant in the room remains, however. It is the one that we hear about so often in health debates in the Chamber: the lack of available investment, which, no doubt, will slow down the pace of the implementation. Despite the road map, we await a published plan. The Minister has acknowledged that substantial additional funding will be required but that, in the current constrained budget environment, meeting the full costs will be challenging. I am sure that we will hear that in his contribution. That is what is so deeply concerning: a once-in-a-generation opportunity could be lost. Therefore, as stated in the motion, we urge the Minister to commit to publishing the time-bound implementation plan for the neurology review's recommendations, including the costings and, hopefully, some form of timeline to help to at least inch the issue forward. The cost of not doing it will be profound. While the cost to do it may seem steep, surely it is cheaper in human terms than letting our neurology services collapse under their own weight, which is the fear of where we may just get to.

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

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:08 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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