STORMONT STALEMATE: 'At the moment if you go to the Cancer Centre, there are people standing ... there is no room for patients to sit down' NI charity chief
More than two years since Assembly collapse we look at the services most affected
Northern Ireland has officially been without a government for over two years now. Stormont collapsed in January 2016, after Martin McGuinness' resignation. Sinn Fein refused to nominate a new Deputy first minster following the RHI scandal, ending more than ten years of powersharing.
To mark the second anniversary, Downtown & Cool FM will be running a special series throughout the week to examine the human impact here.
Here, TARA McLAUGHLIN looks at the sector arguably suffering the most and affecting the majority of the population: HEALTH.
Two years on and too many patients suffering...
That's the picture across Northern Ireland as MLAs continue to be paid, despite not going to their Stormont workplace.
Rosin Foster, chief executive of Cancer Focus NI says it is simply not good enough.
“I would say to politicians as I say to my own staff – just do your job,” she said.
It is clear Northern Ireland's health service is under immense pressure.
The list of issues seems longer than ever:
Shocking waiting times, targets repeatedly missed, nursing staff shortages, crisis in community pharmacy and GP surgeries, out of date cancer and suicide prevention strategies...to name but a few.
And all this set against a backdrop of an ageing population, the biggest neurology review in history here, ongoing investigations into abuse in care homes and the challenges of a ten year transformation project, alongside huge budget cuts.
Ms Foster added: “At the moment if you go to the Cancer Centre there are people standing – there is no room for patients to sit down – the system is under pressure right from GP into secondary and specialist care.
“It does need looked at.”
Legislation was passed back in October to allow civil servants more powers in the absence of ministers.
But as Permanent Health Secretary, Richard Pengelly, explains, that simply is not sustainable.
“The transformation strategy was passed shortly before the Institutions collapsed in Northern Ireland,” he said.
!The reality is the first couple of years of the 10-year strategy are going to about low level hard work analysis developing options – before you come back to ministers for the next set of strategic and difficult decisions so if the absence of ministers continue we will absolutely start bumping into these very difficult decisions.”
The lack of a Health Minister and no foreseeable end to the deadlock begs the question,
how much longer can patients continue to suffer due to Stormont’s inactivity?