Outgoing Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt expected to stay on as Stormont health minister
Mike Nesbitt is expected to stay on as health minister after he is replaced as Ulster Unionist leader, regardless of who replaces him in the upcoming leadership contest.
It is understood there is no appetite for replacing him within the party, despite some unease over his handling of a controversial gender clinic last summer.
Just days before the party announced that he would step down, Mr Nesbitt had set out his vision for the health service in Northern Ireland in 2026 – describing it as a “highly consequential year” for health and social care.
The outgoing leader has largely had the full backing of his MLAs over his handling of the health service. However, in July two former leaders came out against his policy of allowing children of any age to access a new gender identity service.
Steve Aiken opposed Mr Nesbitt’s plans while Doug Beattie had described it as “madness” that young children are being referred to the ‘lifespan’ service.
The health minister said he was “committed to improving wider gender identity service provision for children, young people and adults”. He argued that an additional £806,000 in funding would “increase capacity within the service to allow the Trust to address waiting times and ensure that patients receive the appropriate care they need in a timely way”.
In his New Year message, Mr Nesbitt said: “2026 is shaping up to be a highly consequential year, both for health and social care and for the Ulster Unionist Party. The longer I am in post as Health Minister, the more convinced I am that if we do not ‘shift left’ soon, it may never happen.
“The plan is to introduce a new neighbourhood model of health care from the start of the financial year on 1 April. This means putting a renewed focus on keeping healthy people healthy and, when prevention does not work, making early interventions instead of letting people linger on long waiting lists until they become seriously unwell and the fix becomes very expensive. If capacity fails to meet demand, the logical thing to do is to address the demand side of the equation.
“Money remains tight, but that is the sort of challenge people like me seek election to tackle. Challenges are not insurmountable obstacles”.