Question Time: Health, Social Services and Public Safety Monday 7 April 2014
Minister of
Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Edwin Poots discussed his desire to
change the system by which patients are referred to hospital, in the hope of
taking the pressure off emergency departments, during today’s Question
Time. The current system sees General Practitioners (GPs) referring
patients to emergency departments, who then refer patients on to hospital as
appropriate. The Minister said that he “fundamentally want(s) to change that,
and we need to ensure that there is a communication that exists between General
Practice and our hospitals that ensures that people are admitted appropriately,
and we have as many people as possible that can be admitted to hospital without
having to go through emergency departments”.
Mr Poots is
keenly aware of the strain currently placed on emergency departments but
outlined the initiatives in place as part of the ‘Transforming Your Care’ review
such as the ‘Acute
Care at Home’ service which has been set up by the Belfast Trust to provide
acute care to people in their homes. In response to a question on the current
performance of Antrim Area Hospital’s emergency department, the Minister
provided the encouraging news that, despite an increased volume of patients
this year, the waiting time targets have increased by approximately 5% compared
to figures for the previous year.
During the
scheduled oral questions the Minister also discussed meningitis B vaccination,
research initiatives to improve health care and the Public Health Agency’s
cancer awareness campaign. Throughout question time Mr Poots was eager to
impress the impact that cuts arising from the stalling Welfare Reform Bill will
have on his department saying that they would have a “devastating impact on the
Health Service”.
A period of
topical questions followed in which the Minister answered Members queries on
the costs associated with alcohol misuse, blood donations and the concerns of
the Royal College of Nursing.
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