Member's statement: Health Services: Trauma-informed Approach
Member's statement by Ms Claire Sugden on .
- MLA
- Ms Claire Sugden
- Party at the time
- Independent
- Date
- 16 March 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Health Services: Trauma-informed Approach
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5448357
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to acknowledge my absence from the Chamber over the past number of months. I also thank colleagues from across the House and the many members of the public who contacted me privately during that time. The kindness shown to me is genuinely appreciated. My absence began with what, I thought, was a migraine; thankfully, it also ended there. There were scans, three lumbar punctures, a suspected stroke and several weeks of uncertainty. The care that I received at Causeway Hospital was excellent. The staff responded quickly and professionally when they believed that I was experiencing a medical emergency, and for that I am truly grateful. Being in the system that we often debate and advocate for gives you a different perspective. While I was there, I spent many hours in A&E, where I saw older people waiting far too long, many of them on their own, and staff working at full stretch. On the stroke ward, I saw real dedication from the staff but also the pressure that they are under every day. It is a difficult experience to find yourself at 39 years old and as the mother of a two-year-old in a ward that we normally associate with those who are later in life. Yet, the consultants were clear that younger patients there are not unusual. Increasingly, they see people whose bodies have been under sustained pressure for long periods due to trauma, stress and strain, leaving nervous systems operating in fight or flight mode for far too long. My experience of the uncertainty and the investigations and what followed made me reflect on something that we do not talk enough about in this place, which is trauma. We often treat trauma as something that sits in the past, but the body keeps a score. Experiences can be carried physically long after the moment has passed.
Medically, that can mean a dysregulated nervous system, where the sympathetic system that prepares us for threat stays switched on and the parasympathetic system that is meant to calm and regulate the body struggles to restore balance.
We are a post-conflict society, where many people have carried trauma for decades. For some, it comes from the Troubles, and, for others, it comes from domestic violence, childhood adversity, poverty and the constant pressures of caring responsibilities. However, if we are serious about prevention and about easing pressure on our health service, trauma-informed approaches must be properly embedded in our system and across wider public services. At present, much of our response focuses on cognitive therapies such as CBT, and those absolutely have their place. However, trauma is not only something that people think about that is in their heads. It is something that the body experiences. If the nervous system itself has become dysregulated, part of the pathway must focus on helping people return to a regulated state, not simply asking them to think differently about what has happened to them. That is an area where I believe that our services in Northern Ireland still have work to do. My time away has given me a clearer sense of how fragile health can be, a deeper respect for our healthcare staff and a greater compassion for those who are living with trauma without the support that they need. I am glad to be back, and I intend to continue pressing for a system that understands trauma not as an afterthought but as part of the foundation of better care.
578 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 (0.84).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- 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 | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.84 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.48 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.25 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.21 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.04 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:08 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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