Conservative spokesman, Neil Wilson, has accused successive DUP health ministers of creating the current crisis in Northern Ireland’s hospitals by “failing to follow through on the reforms promised by ‘Transforming Your Care’” (TYC).
“This year has started in disarray, with all trusts in Northern Ireland cancelling non-urgent surgery, which will lead to even longer waiting lists, and more people waiting for over 4 hours in A & E than anywhere else in the UK”, Neil explained. “That’s despite the fact that we pay far more toward healthcare than anywhere else in the UK. The figures really are damning and the DUP, whose ministers have presided over deepening chaos, bear ultimate responsibility. They haven’t been taking the difficult decisions, sometimes unpopular, which the NHS badly needs.”
“One of the chief problems for our hospitals is the ministers’ failure to implement TYC. The policy was designed to deliver secondary care, much of it for older and longer term patients, in the community or at home. The shift in emphasis is badly needed, because it’s better for the patient, it’s better value for money and it avoids the crippling pressure on acute hospitals which we’ve seen over the past week. The policy is failing because health ministers have failed to implement it properly, or to make the difficult decisions about reallocating resources which it requires.”
“Jim Wells has allowed trusts to close beds in local community hospitals as a first resort, when it comes to providing savings. A cost effective service like meals on wheels has been cut by 60% over the past four years. People who need care at home have often had their visits cut to ten or fifteen minutes. The result is more older people turning up at A & E or being admitted to hospital through other routes. It’s a downward spiral, it is wasting huge amounts of money and it’s a direct result of an abdication of responsibility by DUP ministers. If Jim Wells isn’t going to step up, assume responsibility and take the decisions needed to lead our NHS out of crisis, then he should stand aside.”