McGrath Says Transformation needed to save health service
SDLP Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath has said that long-awaited transformation is the only way to save the health service.
He was speaking after introducing a motion on building a sustainable health service at the SDLP conference today.
South Down MLA Mr McGrath said: “We are hearing about the crisis in our health service each and every day and I cannot overstate the situation that our health staff and patients are dealing with.
“Staff are working long hours in increasingly difficult circumstances, struggling to keep up with the demand for treatment, while patients wait longer and longer for care, with their condition and prognosis often worsening as a result.
“We cannot keep going around in circles when it comes to this issue. The only way we are ever going to truly change our health service for the better is through the transformation that we have been talking about for the best part of a decade.
“We cannot hold back any longer, it will take difficult decisions to get us there, and it won’t be easy, but the SDLP is determined to do what’s necessary to stop the total collapse of healthcare here.
“We want to see the Stormont institutions back up and running again at the first opportunity and health must be right at the top of their priority list.
“We understand that transformation will cause concern in communities across the North but the reality is we have no other option.
“The SDLP is committed to ensuring fairness and if any hospital loses an important service, that other services will be relocated to the area to ensure their future viability so that no part of the North is left without adequate healthcare.”
