Speech by TUV East Antrim Assembly candidate Councillor Ruth Wilson:
Mr Chairman, thank you for the warm welcome – it is a pleasure to be able to stand in front of friends and colleagues.
My name is Ruth Wilson, elected in May 2014 to represent the Larne area, and I am here today to talk about Health and our NHS.
I have worked in the NHS for 30 years and know only too well what is at stake if we do not get to grips with the mammoth task of getting it working for us all – as and when we require it.
The NHS is under threat.
Cuts
The NHS is precious, it is free at the point of use and everybody should have reasonable access to it. I believe in universal healthcare, but that healthcare has to provide for those who need it. If it doesn’t, then we experience unacceptable pain and suffering throughout our whole community. If the future of the NHS is uncertain, then our future is uncertain.
The pressures at present are created by lack of investment, under staffing, bureaucracy for example mountains of paperwork, time and effort by front line staff in producing target and performance related information, poor planning, and a lack of support. EU directives also add an extra layer of bureaucracy to an already ailing system. Last year, at this very conference, we talked about how successive DUP health ministers had let down patients, and instead of shouldering the blame, they pointed fingers at the health trusts. Well, this year we have a new Minister in Simon Hamilton, but he has continued in the same vain as his predecessors in cutting services and blaming others. Just last weekend A&E services where cut at the Mater Hospital which is a first step in removing the range of critical care Services at another of our key sites, this will lead to even longer waiting lists for A&E and inpatient treatment.
Residential Care Homes, staff and most importantly the residents are still under threat: we need to make this clear – the closure agenda is still at the heart of the Minister’s plans. These care homes are essential. The announcement this week of the Closure of Four Seasons private nursing homes focuses our attention that we cannot rely on the private sector as they can disappear overnight. This time the minister is forced into another U Turn in looking at the retention of essential NHS Nursing Homes.
The state sector should provide stable and caring homes, which are based on the needs of our population, not on profit-making.
The Minister’s u-turn on closures and new admission is welcome, but this must be followed through with an absolute commitment to the statutory care sector. Anything less than that is unacceptable.
The great thing about the NHS is that you and I should have access to it when we need it. Some people need it more than others, but when you do need it, it should be there for you. When services are removed, downgraded or under so much pressure that they cannot function – then they are no longer accessible.
Waiting Lists
The shocking revelation that some patients are waiting 18 months to get a hospital appointment is indicative of the failings of this government.
In England the target from referral to treatment is 18 weeks – in Northern Ireland 18 months. That is absurd, embarrassing and most importantly dangerous. Waiting time figures of 18 months will leave people in pain, and even worse.
Why has this been allowed to happen? In most countries when there is strain on waiting lists either you get the surgeons and other staff to work at weekends, or you use the private sector to reduce the waiting lists.
Already we hear stories of people being in so much pain that they pay to go private by lending money. That is not what should happen. The NHS is under threat.
Air Ambulance Provision for NI
During the summer, we witnessed the tragic death of Dr John Hinds, a dedicated and skilled doctor who campaigned tirelessly for an Air Ambulance Service for Northern Ireland. The legacy for Dr Hinds should be a dedicated Air Ambulance Service for Northern Ireland.
It is shameful that the only blackspot for air ambulance provision in the British Isles is Northern Ireland. Lives are being lost each year that could be saved by early intervention by a doctor led air ambulance.
The public have had their say, but we get weasel words from the Health Minister on introducing such a service.
TUV has pledged to keep this campaign alive, and we encourage others to join with us.
Transforming Your Care
A lot has been said about Transforming Your Care. It was sold as an idea which provided those using the health service with a choice – if you wanted care provided in your home, then there would be resources allocated to meet that demand.
Transforming Your Care has been transformed into Closing Your Care. Closing of A&E Units forcing increased dependency on under pressure units, closure of respite units, closures of hospitals and exiting of Children’s Cardiac services from the Province all together.
It is shameful that all this is under attack. TUV know what the NHS means to people, and we will defend it.
Thank you.