Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
The Minister has just said about Encompass: "think of the prize when we get it fully embedded". Will he therefore outline what discussions he has had with GP representatives to determine the level of access to Encompass that they require? Will he also outline any progress that has made in any discussions?
The fact is that rolling out Encompass is one of the biggest changes to patient record-keeping that the health and social care workforce has ever had to face. Encompass needs a period in which to bed in and a period for validation, so, as frustrating as that may be, there have been times, and there continue to be…
I thank the Minister for his response. Now that Encompass is in all trusts, can he assure the House that we will get full information on waiting lists, particularly cancer waiting lists, where key data has been absent?
Encompass successfully went live in the Southern Trust and the Western Trust on 8 May. This is the first time in the history of Northern Ireland that all five geographically defined trusts have been integrated into one digital system. It is a major transformational change that will empower patients and improve access…
I will check once again with officials whether a temporary solution is possible. As I just said to the Member who asked the original question, it is now over 30 years ago that my wife had an episode of antenatal depression. What happened when my son was born was so far from ideal that it has stuck with us 30 years on.…
Notwithstanding all the good work that is, you say, taking place in lieu of there being a mother-and-baby unit, Minister, has any consideration been given to providing a temporary unit? Most of the backbone of the work is provided by the staff. Whilst we wait to get the perfection of a brand new building and service,…
Yes, I have. I had some detailed discussions with the previous Minister for Health in the Government of Ireland, Stephen Donnelly, about the possibility of pitching to the Shared Island Fund for a single mother-and-baby unit that would service the whole island of Ireland. Without wishing to break any confidentiality,…
I thank the Minister for his answer and for the details of what is happening in the interim. Minister, have you had any discussions with your counterpart in the Republic of Ireland to see whether, going forward, there might be an ability to take an all-island approach to the matter?
An earlier independent review identified that the model of the proposed six- or seven-bedded mother-and-baby unit should be that recommended by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and that the location of the mother-and-baby unit should be the City Hospital site, which, of course, is in the Belfast Health and Social…
I understand that the Member is curious about that, as, indeed, am I. As I understand it, the trust is still trying to figure out exactly what has gone wrong with the pipework. We know that there was pseudomonas bacteria in the pipework. That was the main issue, but, since then, I understand that some valves that have…
A Cheann Comhairle, I apologise for not being in my place yesterday. I thought that my question had been withdrawn. Minister, will the cost of the works at the new maternity hospital be borne by the public purse, or will it be possible to get the money back from the contractor in any way? If you do not know, when will…
I am satisfied with the verbal assurance that I got as recently as yesterday that work is progressing on the children's hospital on time and to budget. That said, we are in the foothills of a long building works campaign. I am happy to report that the Falls Road has not collapsed, and I do not say that flippantly.…
Minister, are you satisfied that works are progressing well with the neighbouring capital project on the Royal site, which is the new children's hospital?
As the Member said, this is a different issue. A fire safety audit was carried out at the Royal Victoria Hospital on 4 June by personnel from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service under the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. The audit found a substantial risk at wards 4 and 7, with a score…
I must say that everyone in the Chamber shares your frustration, Minister. You say that it will be another 28 months, and it is already 15 months since the handover of that building, so we share your frustration. I will turn your attention to another issue relating to the Belfast Trust, Minister. Can you explain to…
First, no decision has been endorsed by me. There were three options, and I know that the trust is going for option b. That appears to have a timeline — I am sorry to say this — of 28 months. That is another two years and a bit and several million pounds. As I said, I have met the relevant official. I have not…
I thank the Minister for his answer. It has been a long-developing issue. I am glad to hear that the Minister will share that report with the Committee. The project is 10 years behind. The cost is now expected to be in excess of £97 million, and with this work, I expect, there will be a price tag as well. What is that…
The Belfast Trust recently completed the multidisciplinary review of the options for the remediation works required to address the water safety issues in the new maternity hospital at the Royal Victoria site. The review has been in the form of multidisciplinary risk assessment workshops held in April and May. The…
I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member have a concern that there appears to be a circling of the wagons by the Executive parties on the amendments, which try to remove the part in your motion that says: "believes that the Executive are failing to address the housing crisis"? Do the Member and the party…
I thank the Member for giving way. Does the Member accept that this is not just a current issue? In fact, it goes back decades, and his party held the Department for Social Development portfolio at one time.
I want to make it very clear, as I did at the start of my comments, that I welcome the debate, am more than happy to be held to account and want to focus on this issue. The Member certainly cannot level that accusation at us today. I am more than happy to have that discussion and make sure that we are held to account.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will attempt to respond to several of the points that have come up in the debate, but I will not cover all of them, because I have a relatively brief period of time. First, I want to tackle the idea that, purely by the Opposition being an Opposition, we are somehow not being constructive. We…
In my intervention to the Member for North Antrim, I of course said that the Infrastructure Minister had not taken any new initiatives regarding this matter. In the interests of accuracy, it is perhaps important to say that she has suggested the idea of developer contributions, but that will not address the scale of…