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.
I thank the Minister for his answer. I echo his kind words on the performance of the Lagan Valley Hospital regional day-procedure centre. I invite him to join me in visiting the site to acquaint himself in person with its fantastic facilities and provision.
I thank the Member for his question. Lagan Valley Hospital is our flagship regional day-procedure centre. Opened in October 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the day-procedure centre at Lagan Valley Hospital has provided much-needed regional support for urgent and red-flag day procedures in response to the downturn…
The Member will be aware that I launched the Northern Ireland cancer strategy and made clear that it would be delivered to its fullest only when it was fully supported financially and that that would require parties' commitment to the service. Neither my Department nor I wants to scrimp on the strategy or not see it…
Minister, I welcome the cross-border work that North West Cancer Centre does, but I encourage you to expand that work. Do you agree that none of it can really hit the ground running until the Northern Ireland cancer strategy has been implemented? When will that happen?
Again, I thank the Member for the point. I am aware that it is part of a debate later on. We have been having conversations across both Departments on how we might make best use of facilities in Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, because we both face the same challenges. Paediatric pathologists are a very small…
The Minister will be aware that there is a motion coming to the Assembly today around the baby loss certificate and pathology services. Previously, when the Assembly was not in place, the permanent secretary said that an all-island pathology service would be considered. Will the Minister update the House on whether…
Again, the Member raises a specific issue. On the wider engagement piece regarding cancer specifically, the Member will be aware of the setting up of the All-Island Cancer Consortium, which was an outworking of the Belfast Agreement in 1998; it still does good work. I signed a renewed memorandum of understanding back…
I thank the Minister very much for his answer; indeed, he answered my supplementary question as well. I recently referred to the Minister a case of a very rare form of genetic cancer. Will he please consider whether there is an opportunity to deal with that on a cross-border basis, or maybe through further…
In addition to existing areas of cross-border cooperation, my officials are engaging with and considering proposals from Minister Donnelly's office for further collaboration across several priority areas, including enhanced cancer service provision; alcohol, drugs and substance use; and children's services.…
I am not aware of the specific case that the Member has raised. If there are ongoing SAIs in relation to a specific case, such as the individual that the Member mentioned, I do not have the detail here. I will go back and ask officials in the Belfast Trust to investigate. I am sure that the Member would expect nothing…
Minister, I have been in your position where officials, in good faith, give you an answer and you use it in a response. I am telling you that what you have said is not fact. My constituent Alex Duffy died in January of this year as a result of complications of services received in the RVH. That was an adverse…
I thank the Member. Children and young people with disabilities receive dental care across a range of settings in Northern Ireland: general dental services, community dental services and hospital dental services. Those with the most complex needs are treated in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Royal Victoria…
I thank the Member. I push all the time that health should be central to everything that we do, not just in a Programme for Government but in a Budget. That was the commitment that was made in the House when this Executive were established. I want to hold my Executive colleagues to that commitment and that promise,…
Minister, the state of the health service in general, specifically the length of waiting lists, is probably the single biggest example and crystallisation of chaos in public services and the thing that most of the public in Northern Ireland want dealt with most quickly. It has to be at the core of a Programme for…
The Member makes a valid point that has been reiterated across the House many times, not just by me but by Executive colleagues. When we talk about waiting lists, the challenge is having a non-recurrent Budget that does not allow us to make the strategic changes that we want to make across health, which needs that…
Today's report from the Royal College of Paediatrics has reiterated the awful figures that many of us have known for some time. We are a fortnight into the financial year, and, still with little budgetary clarity on the horizon, can the Minister provide an update on the challenges that his Department and the trusts…
I was able to talk with representatives of the Royal College of Paediatrics on, I think, 4 April and update them on where the child health partnership and the project board are and how we look at bringing children's services in the Department on to an even keel and tackle some of the horrendous waiting lists that have…
The 'Worried and Waiting' report was published today. Has the Minister had time to consider that report, and does he intend to initiate a child health system review to identify the needs aimed at reducing child health inequalities, as called for in the report?
I thank the Member. Although I was not able to attend the launch of the report today, I met people from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health a fortnight ago and talked through some of the recommendations in the report. I had good engagement with them at that event. A wide range of online well-being…
I thank the Minister for his answer. The Minister will also be aware of the 'Worried and Waiting' report, which was launched in the Building earlier. The report shows that paediatric waiting lists in Northern Ireland have increased by 173% in the past seven years, which is wholly unacceptable. With far too many…
The reduction of waiting lists is a key priority for me and has been indicated as a key priority for the Executive. My officials are taking forward a range of measures to address it. However, as the Member is aware, it is a complex matter that will take time, effort and, importantly, adequate and recurrent investment.…
I thank the Member. I refer him to the answer that I gave to the substantive question, which was that puberty blockers are available on NHS prescription only for under-18s who were accepted for and remain in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Knowing Our Identity service endocrine pathway prior to March 2020. I…
Presumably the liaison panel advises, and you decide. Given that the Cass report highlighted the irreversible harm from the use of puberty blockers, can you assure the House that there will be no return to their destructive use?
I thank the Member for his point. As I said in my answer, my officials have been working with the gender identity service pathway review group and the gender identity services liaison panel, which includes clinical, managerial and service user representation, to develop the gender identity service. The liaison panel…