Stormont’s failure to heed experts on long-overdue NHS reform is a key cause of waiting list crisis in Northern Ireland

News Letter editorial of Saturday August 28 2021:
News Letter editorialNews Letter editorial
News Letter editorial

The serious problems with a forced, multi party executive at Stormont are apparent in the political response to NHS waiting lists.

As we report today, the various political parties cannot agree on whether or not to have a health summit on the matter.

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The Sinn Fein deputy first minister says they agreed to one, the Ulster Unionist health minister says there is no need for one. The SDLP health spokesperson criticises the Sinn Fein finance minister over funding. Meanwhile the DUP health spokesman puts the onus on the UUP minister.

There is not much sign of the traditional governing principle of collective responsibility, in which all governing parties agree on the surface about decisions, even if they disagree in private.

But how could there be such a normal cabinet approach ? If all main parties were both in office and agreed on all issues, and were seen to agree, there would in effect be no opposition, beyond the handful of non executive MLAs.

The health row does not just show the problems with mandatory coalition, but with local politics generally.

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It is more than 20 years since the hugely respected late Maurice Hayes was commissioned to oversee a review of health. His review and all subsequent reviews have called for a smaller number of first-rate hospitals. The current set-up is highly inefficient, and the main parties know it but most of them are afraid of being seen to close hospitals.

This failure to listen to the experts — most recently Bengoa — is a key reason for the waiting list crisis.

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