Letter: Parties should stop taking swipes at Nesbitt and instead get behind him
A letter from Alan Chambers:
It is getting very tiresome listening to health spokespersons from the Alliance and DUP parties articulating their 20/20 rear view mirror vision on the airwaves at every opportunity when reminding us of all that is wrong with our health and social care system.
When asked for their solutions they trot out a list of uncosted pathways that have not been provided in budgets that they have consistently fully supported.
When reminded of this irony they go into distraction mode, with Alliance throwing in the justified comment of the DUP having brought the NI Assembly down for two years while the DUP just go into silent denial mode on that topic.
When questioned how the recent Programme for Government Executive offer to try and find up to £225m to tackle the growing hospital waiting lists sits with their claim that health care is their number one priority they descend into full waffle mode.
With a brass neck approach they justify this worthless funding commitment that is no more of a guarantee than a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
They pledge support for the efforts of health minister Mike Nesbitt to try to deliver a reformed and sustainable health and social care system.
They use every media platform and NI Assembly opportunity to score cheap political points that do nothing for finding a positive way forward.
Knowing just how stretched the health budgets are, they are happy to keep bringing forward non-binding motions to the assembly calling for either brand new health schemes or enhancement of current services.
Dealing with these motions only adds to the pressures within the Department of Health and does nothing more than provide headline opportunities for those who pledge they are representing the best interests of the Northern Ireland public.
When put into a corner they turn to their ultimate distraction tactic by reminding the public that health gets 52% of the overall Assembly budget.
The tone deployed when quoting this figure appears to imply that they are doing the Department of Health a huge favour by granting this pot of funds to them.
By extension, that comes across as a patronising claim that they are doing the population of Northern Ireland a big favour with this wonderful act of generosity.
Is that how they feel about supporting the health of our population? Are they pleased with themselves that they give 52% of the overall assembly budget to health and social care? Do they begrudge this figure going to health?
Using this percentage figure as their default distraction tactic, it would appear they feel that they have been over-generous to the Department of Health.
The problems facing our health and social care system are not unique to this part of the United Kingdom.
Just as in other parts of the UK, the current situation has arrived as a result of years of under-funding. It is also a situation brought about by the success of our health professionals in helping our citizens live longer.
Unfortunately, this has been accompanied by a lack of adequate government forward planning, and funding to provide a social care system that fully meets the needs of our ageing population.
It is time for the health spokespeople of parties represented in the Executive to stop flexing their muscles as part of the opposition but rather get fully behind the minister for health and his excellent workforce and start living their claim that health is their number one priority rather than paying it hollow, and at times bitter, lip service.
Alan Chambers, MLA for North Down and UUP health spokesperson