Beggs calls for Priority for Health in Budget Debate

East Antrim Assemblyman Roy Beggs MLA has said that Health Service spending must be a priority for the Northern Ireland Executive. The Assembly has been discussing public expenditure during a debate on the draft budget at Stormont.

Roy Beggs MLA said: -
"Accountable democracy requires that there is openness regarding how public money is being spent. Elected representatives must be able to make a difference as to how it will be spent in the future.

I could list a wide range of areas where I would like more money spent but given the severity of constituency pressures that I am aware of, I wish to highlight the particular needs of the National Health Service.

In the past large funding increases were given to the Health Service, but the bureaucratic health service that we have inhibits us from seeing how and where that money is actually spent. The Boards and Trusts need to be reformed so that transparency and "value for money" can be clearly demonstrated."

The Ulster Unionist MLA recently revealed how the Minster for Health advised him that in the United Hospital Trust 96 of the 820 beds (12%) were being blocked. On 31st August 23 patients were awaiting nursing care packages, and 8 patients were awaiting residential packages. Within the Homefirst Community Trust Area a further 22 people are awaiting residential care packages, and 7 people are awaiting nursing care packages.

Mr Beggs said he had heard of several distressing cases in his constituency where people could not get discharged from hospital due to a lack of funding for community care packages.

"I would further illustrate the current community pressures on the Occupational Therapy service in the Homefirst Trust Area. Again through local constituency cases, I have learnt that OT staff are now dealing with priority cases which originated in May. There were no funds last month for basic wheel chair provision.

Health care professionals are being put in an impossible position - they are not being given the means to properly carry out their jobs. Health Trusts are getting into financial difficulties. In my area the Homefirst Trust is £1.6m in deficit after the first 6 months of this financial year. Levels of health care, which are unacceptable at the moment, could worsen rather than improve because the Trust is required to balance its books by March."

The East Antrim Assemblyman said that part of the solution was a rapid reorganisation of the bureaucratic systems in the NHS:-

"In the past large amounts of additional money has been given to the Health Service but there is a lack of public confidence with regards to how that money is spent. Money is distributed to 5 Health Boards and subsequently to a patchwork of various types of Trusts.

The current arrangement also causes inequality as the number of acute facilities within a particular Board Area can affect Community Care Funding. The NHS needs additional funding. Monies should be set aside to remove the Health Care funding anomalies and to move towards re-organising how the health service is structured."

Mr Beggs called on other Assembly members to prioritise health when debating the draft budget:-
"Health care is the most essential of basic government services. I would urge Ministers to prioritise spending on the Health Service and also to carefully examine the Executive Programme funds to see how they can be used to drive forward improvements to the current fragmented and bureaucratic system of health care."

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