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Good Intentions, But Could Do Better

Tuesday 16 August 2005

Statement by Andrew Dougal, Chief Executive of NI Chest Heart & Stroke on health developments during the first 100 days of the NI Assembly

Stormont, the first 100 days

One hundred days is a short time in which to make any real impact in a field as huge, diverse and complex as health.

But the Assembly and the Executive should be congratulated for at least showing the willingness to make a difference. Individual members have demonstrated that having a local parliament enables politicians to look in more detail at the illness and suffering which the DHSSPS is designed to address. During a debate in June, for example, we heard harrowing accounts of the lives of elderly carers looking after their own adult children. Members of both the Assembly and the Health Committee have taken with the appropriate seriousness the issue of teenage suicides - one of the most pressing problems facing this society.

The Minister should also be congratulated for committing ₤28m to health and care centres in west Belfast, and for the ₤12m earmarked for community services, including respite care.

The target of 26 weeks' waiting time from referral to treatment to be met by March next year, falling to 13 weeks by March 2009, will also have been greeted with relief by all those who need specialist medical care.

But a huge amount remains to be done. We have a postcode lottery in the treatment of stroke, for example, in which some patients can expect specialist care in a dedicated Stroke Unit while others can expect nothing of the sort. I raise this not because of my particular interest in the subject, but because it is one example of where the service needs to be improved. And that takes me to another point. MLAs must resist the urge to make political points and curry favour with their own voters by concentrating on highly localised issues. All need to take the broad view, and deliver an unrivalled Health Service for everyone in Northern Ireland. When the Minister took office in May, he promised a new era. Assembly members need to work fast if they intend to turn promises and good intentions into a reality.

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