Doctors should not pay the price for Executive failure says McGrath
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA has said doctors and patients should not be forced to bear the consequences of the Executive’s failure to properly fund healthcare.
He was speaking following confirmation that hospital doctors in Northern Ireland are planning strike action later this month.
Colin McGrath said the situation was a direct consequence of continued under-investment and political failure to address workforce pressures within the health service.
South Down MLA Colin McGrath said: “Nobody wants to see strike action in our health service, least of all the doctors and healthcare staff who have dedicated their lives to caring for others.
“The disruption this will cause for patients is deeply concerning, but we also have to ask why doctors are being put in this position in the first place.
“These are highly trained professionals who are already working under immense pressure in an overstretched system. They are now being told that pay offers below inflation are not even guaranteed to be funded this year. That is simply unacceptable.
“We are already struggling to retain healthcare workers here in Northern Ireland. Younger doctors, in particular, are looking elsewhere for better pay and working conditions, and that should alarm every member of the Executive.
“The reality is that our health service cannot continue to function if staff feel undervalued, demoralised and ignored. Doctors should not be paying the price for the Executive failing to get its budget priorities right.
“There needs to be urgent engagement now to avoid escalation, deliver certainty for healthcare workers and protect patient care. Kicking difficult decisions down the road has brought us to this point, and patients and staff deserve far better.”
