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My Department is committed to ensuring equitable and timely access to cancer diagnosis and treatment for all residents in Northern Ireland, regardless of location. It is important to understand whether individuals in rural areas face different challenges or barriers compared with those in urban areas when it comes to…
I have made it clear that my ambition is to rebalance how HSC services are delivered to facilitate a greater proportion of care being provided by primary care, community care and social care to get it as close to people's homes as possible to relieve some of the pressure on secondary care. That will require a…
Minister, I very much welcome the fact that an offer and a longer-term potential solution have been identified. If agreed, I hope that those will allow an even greater focus on how primary care can undoubtedly assist with the Minister's shift-left agenda. Does the Minister agree that primary care has the potential to…
That is exactly the point that I am trying to make. If we can deal with the, as I describe it, fairly toxic issue of GP indemnity and put a long-term solution in place, it gives me, I think, permission, as it were, to go back and ask, "Can we now look at an issue that is very toxic for me and for Members of the House,…
I take on board the Minister's caution, given that negotiations are ongoing. He mentioned opening up access in the final part of his answer to Mr Tennyson. Does the Minister agree that resolving the indemnity issue would have a very positive impact on opening up and providing greater access to GP services?
It is my understanding that we are negotiating with practices rather than with individual GPs. I want to be careful in what I say, because we are not over the line, and it is an issue that, in my assessment, has become quite toxic over the past number of years and is affecting the relationship between the Department…
I thank the Minister for that update, though I suspect that, given the end of his answer, he will not answer this next question: what is the rationale for excluding locum and sessional GPs from the proposed indemnity scheme? Is it not the case that, by excluding those GPs, those costs will be passed on to practices…
I recognise that arrangements for clinical negligence indemnity are a matter of concern for GPs locally. My Department has been exploring options for a long-term future for GP indemnity. I recognise that progress in that work has taken longer than expected. However, in fairness, that reflects the complexity of the…
It is a fact that people who visit emergency departments are not in a good place. The longer they stay, the greater the risk to their health. There are solid statistics for that. I am not aware of the exact statistics on cancer that the Member mentions, but the general point is made and is accepted. It is not…
It is my understanding that patients diagnosed with cancer in emergency departments have a significantly lower chance of survival than those with a referral. How will you address that sad reality, Minister?
I thank the Member for his interest in the area. I have visited the rapid diagnostic centre in Dungannon. It is a first-class service. I was assured that, if you present with one of those vague symptoms, you will be checked in, you will be assessed, you will have your scan and, within two hours, you will get your…
Minister, what plans do you have to expand the vague symptoms pathway to rapid diagnostic centres? Do you intend to expand those beyond Whiteabbey and Dungannon?
I absolutely agree with the Member. After Christmas, I visited seven EDs, including Altnagelvin, which, as the Member knows, is the oldest of our type-1 EDs. Altnagelvin is more than ready for a replacement ED, and I hope that there will be one, although it may be five years before we get to that point. When I was in…
I thank the Minister for his answer. I have a number of constituents, including elderly individuals, who are terminally ill with cancer and are still being referred by their GP to the emergency department. I am aware of numerous cases, which I have forwarded to the Western Trust, of those individuals having to lie on…
Oncology teams and surgical teams that manage cancer patients strive to minimise the need for emergency department visits. Every hospital trust in Northern Ireland has a 24-hour systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) telephone advice service. Patients are encouraged to contact their treating unit through that service if…
I thank the leader of the Opposition for those comments. I am more focused on the three-year plan. I do not see what is wrong with reading the three-year plan and seeing that I have targets of 46,000 additional appointments and 11,000 procedures between now and 2027.
Minister, I acknowledge and have sympathy with some of the arguments that you have made about other Executive parties' hypocrisy, but would it not be easier to get political support and buy-in and, indeed, public engagement on your budgetary needs if the Programme for Government were more specific about the actions…
I thank the Member for his question. I have already published a three-year plan that covers my intentions and ambitions for the remainder of the mandate. We will shortly follow that up with a more detailed and costed plan for financial year 2025-26.
I thank the Member for her interest in the core grant scheme. When I took up my post, the scheme effectively did not exist, in that no money had been allocated to it. I was not happy with that position, so, following negotiations with the permanent secretary and others, we identified £1·8 million to go towards the…
Minister, I take into account the fact that you are completely constrained when it comes to additional funding requirements and that you find it difficult to bring on board any new projects or to expand funding. Can you elaborate on core grant funding under the current budget and how that looks for this financial…
I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I agree that there is an irony in the fact that, despite being warned of its potential impact on healthcare delivery, Members will vote for a Budget and then write to me almost daily to request that I consider additional funding for a new service here — bowel cancer…
I thank the Minister for his response, which nails the myth promoted by some that a vague reference in the Programme for Government is somehow an illustration of prioritisation. Does the Minister agree that it is the height of hypocrisy for some MLAs in the Chamber to demand additional investment in existing services…
The draft Budget allocation does not align with the draft Programme for Government, as it provides no additional funding for waiting list reductions, despite waiting lists supposedly having been identified as an Executive-wide priority. Indeed, the draft Programme for Government states: "It will not be possible to…
I have been talking with officials with a view to expanding it, and that is part of the three-year plan that I published recently. It is dependent on budget and finance and on workforce. I would like to see it offered from the age of 50 upwards, and that is an ambition that I will work towards within the confines of…