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.
Minister, regardless of where people stand on the exact figure, surely we can all agree that a health service cannot function without the doctors whom it trains. Resident doctors say that their pay has fallen significantly in real terms, and more than half of final-year medical students surveyed said they were…
No, I do not agree that the matter is down to me. When I came into post, the pay regime that was in place was clear: two independent bodies make recommendations on pay awards, one of which is for doctors and dentists, the other being for everybody else working in Health and Social Care (HSC). We were recommended a pay…
I am grateful to Executive colleagues for accepting the argument I made to them that, having done well in the last financial year in exceeding many times over the Programme for Government target on addressing long waiting lists, we were in danger of losing momentum without a Budget. I am really grateful to them for…
Minister, I commend you for the substantial progress being made under your leadership and, more important, the work of the men and women of our great health service. Will you agree that it is important that we now go faster and further in trying to reduce waiting lists and improve access to the health service and do…
There has been significant improvement in endoscopy waiting times. Between 30 June 2025 and the end of March this year, a 35% reduction is reported in the number of patients waiting for the procedure, alongside a 92% reduction in the number waiting in excess of 78 weeks. My Department continues to invest in endoscopy…
The children's social work workforce continues to experience significant pressures. However, there has been a modest increase in staffing over the past two years. In April 2024, there were 1,133·5 whole-time-equivalent band 5 to 7 social workers in post: as of April this year, that has increased to 1,199·8, which is…
Minister, I know that you fully agree that social workers perform an incredibly important and challenging role, especially those working in children's services. Will you provide an update on the number of such staff in post and how that has improved recently?
There will be a considerable amount of work over the remainder of the mandate. We have the adult safeguarding Bill, which was paused to allow us to absorb the recommendations — as it turned out, the 106 recommendations — from the Muckamore Abbey Hospital report. I also made a commitment to a statutory duty of candour…
I concur with all that was said by Sian Mulholland. It is complex and challenging, and social workers are dealing with many more cases than they should. There also cases that are unassigned, however, and there are safeguarding issues there. What reassurance can you give us, Minister, given the issues raised in the…
I assure the Member that I very much value the work of social care workers, social workers and everybody who is delivering health and social care. I have often said that there are five elements in its delivery — buildings, beds, equipment, medicine and the workforce — and that the first four do not add up to a hill of…
Thank you, Minister. I am glad to hear you say that the role played by social workers is "complex and challenging". From what I hear from those who have contacted me, social workers are stretched to capacity. What is the Department doing to address that? Will you take the opportunity to refute your party leader's…
The role played by social workers in delivering safeguarding and family support interventions is complex and challenging. The work frequently pivots on multidisciplinary collaboration, with parents and carers positioned as partners in the formulation and delivery of safeguarding and support plans. Their work ensures…
I thank the Member. We provide a range of services. Long waiting times were one of the prominent themes raised during the consultation on the emotional health and well-being framework. It takes action to address that. A key change is the move away from multiple single diagnostic pathways, which often create delays,…
That is one of the intents of the Committee in Common. As the Member will know, the trusts were, in effect, set up under a sort of Thatcherite model of competition driving down price. That does not work for me. If I could start with a blank page or click my fingers, we would not have five geographically based trusts.…
I have submitted quite a number of questions for written answer on autism services, and the answers, sometimes on the same day from the Department, contradict themselves. The Minister often refers to the emotional health and well-being framework as the idea that will frame all of the uniform services. Will we ever get…
I absolutely share the Member's ambition to see people living in the community. The trusts provide a range of evidence-informed programmes for individuals who are awaiting assessment. For children and young people, early intervention teams deliver proactive needs-led programmes that are neurodiversity-affirming and…
I concur with the Minister that patient safety is ultimately the top priority, but patient safety is also important, as the Member said, in terms of assessments. If you cannot get assessments, your safety is compromised. Following on from the issue of assessment, Minister, what progress has been made in improving…
I very much understand the Member's desire to see hard targets set, both on numbers and on timelines. I get it and am not against it, but, in the past number of days, two public inquiries have reported, and my conclusion from that is that there is something that has to go above timelines, targets, savings and…
I thank the Minister for his response. We have over 17,000 children and over 4,000 adults on the waiting list. They are waiting for up to six years for an assessment. Minister, in the delivery plan, there are no measurable targets to reduce those waiting times. Can you look at that to commit to recognising the…
I fully recognise the impact of the current delays on individuals and families. The situation has arisen due to a combination of factors, including funding that falls short of objectively assessed need and previously missed opportunities to reform health and social care delivery. I am committed to addressing this, and…
I am unaware of the individual case, and I am unaware that that is something that occurs in Health and Social Care (HSC) delivery, so I will take it away.
Speaking of the future and a vision for the Western Trust, I sat, over the weekend, with a loved one who was severely suicidal. Once they reached triage, they were informed that, because they do not currently live in the Western Trust area, they would not be able to access support or be admitted. Upon that happening,…
The hospital reconfiguration consultation produced a significant number of responses, some of which were basically from a cut-and-paste template. That led me to have a discussion with the permanent secretary about what would be a novel way forward in Northern Ireland. That plan is being progressed. Unfortunately, it…
Will the Minister give an update on the hospital reconfiguration plan, to which the Member who asked the substantive question referred? When will that plan be produced?