Question to the Minister of Health

Minister's Answer

I agree with the Member about the impact of waiting times on patients and their families and friends. I do not have an answer to the Member's specific question about Belfast City Hospital. Generally speaking, however, we are trying to deal with regional variation, particularly where it is not reasonable variation. I gave an example to Mr Kingston of what I consider not to be reasonable variation or a reasonable reason for delay.

As well as making savings in this tight budgetary environment, we have to increase productivity. The regional director of elective care, Professor Mark Taylor, is pushing everybody, believe me. I have visited hospitals with Mark Taylor. We are pushing hard and, to be fair, getting a positive response in respect of what we can do not just with the long waiters on the lists but with the clinical teams. For example, when we visited Daisy Hill and Causeway Hospital recently, clinical teams said, "Never mind praising us for what we do; let us do more. We want to do more". That attitude is spreading throughout the system, including Belfast City Hospital.