Question Time: Health, Social Services and Public Safety Tuesday 17 February 2015
Health
Minister, Jim Wells, provided the House with an update on ‘Transforming Your Care’
during today’s Question
Time. ‘Transforming Your Care’ (TYC) sets out an overarching road map for
change in the provision of health and social care services in Northern Ireland,
focussing on reshaping how services are structured and delivered in order to
make best use of all available resources. While the 2015-16 financial plan does
not include funding for services that may support TYC, it remains a priority
for the Department. “Ideally we are working to a three- to five-year
implementation framework. That, of course, is dependent on financial
circumstances.” As such, a lack of success in appeals for funding in monitoring
rounds has put the TYC process under considerable stress however “we are still
striving, as effectively as we can, to obtain that funding”. In reply to Fearghal
McKinney, the Minister added that “on TYC, we are not going into reverse.
Everyone is agreed that it is the best way forward for our health-care
structures in Northern Ireland, although it has made less progress than we would
have liked. I would argue with him about the monitoring rounds: we have made a
large number of monitoring round bids for extra resources for TYC. However, I
accept that, on many occasions, there have been much more pressing demands on
the Department of Finance and Personnel.”
During
Topical Questions Phil Flanagan enquired about the progress of legislation to
introduce an organ donation opt-out system in Northern Ireland. Currently we
are waiting for the introduction of Jo-Anne
Dobson’s private member’s bill on the subject and the result of the
consultation process. The Minister is also keeping an eye on how successful equivalent
legislation proves in the Welsh legislature. Mr Wells also highlighted
advertising campaigns and the work of our nurses in encouraging organ donation.
He also hopes that progress on Mrs Dobson’s Bill will escalate in the coming
weeks.
Also
discussed during Question Time was the cost to the Health Service of
non-attendance at medical appointments, the recommendations of the Donaldson report, the possible
introduction of a Mental Capacity Bill and how to make savings in the Fire and
Rescue Service.
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