NI health: Robin Swann says damage limitation needed for services

Robin Swann has warned the health service is in a "very difficult and unparalleled situation" due to budget shortfalls and demands on the system.

It comes after healthcare workers were offered a 5% pay increase, alongside a one-off payment of £1,505 on Monday.

Unions will now consult with their members on whether to accept the offer.

On Tuesday, the health minister told Royal College of GP members the next year will be about "damage limitation" given budgetary pressures.

The Ulster Unionist assembly member said he wanted to build a "shared understanding" about the "risks of service breakdown".

"I believe we all have a duty to be honest with the public about what we see," he continued.

"We continue to have expectations and demands of health and social care that we cannot currently meet and on the current trajectory the situation is getting worse rather than better."

Mr Swann said he would press for the best possible budgetary settlement for 2024/25 "to ensure the Executive parties follow through on their commitment to prioritising health".

In last year's budget, which was set by Westminster due to the collapse of power-sharing government in NI, the Department of Health was allocated £7.25bn for day-to-day spending.

This was £470m short of the department's estimated needs.

"But all the current projections indicate an extremely difficult and worsening financial position," he explained.

"On the one hand, we have pent up demand for additional spending across all public services.

"On the other, we have the most challenging fiscal context in any period since the Belfast Agreement."

The finance minister has said she hoped a new budget could be agreed by the Executive by the end of April.

Mr Swann also warned of "a huge mismatch between expectations and financial realities".

"Being in government here is going to involve breaking a lot of bad funding news to a lot of people," he said.

"In health, therefore, the Executive and I will not be able to come close to doing all the things we want to do."

Mr Swann also told GPs the core health budget for next year will be important when it comes to tackling waiting lists.

"Funding for waiting list initiatives will have much more limited impact if the overall budget is far short of what the system requires."

Mr Swann also welcomed the decision by trade unions to ballot members on a proposed pay settlement.

However, junior doctors are still due to take part in a 24-hour walkout from 6 to 7 March over pay.

A newly qualified doctor in Northern Ireland earns £26,000 per year.

Previously in a letter to the British Medical Association Mr Swann said he questioned the merit of the strike and it will "impact heavily on patients".

Alliance health spokesperson Nuala McAllister said Mr Swann must "show leadership" and called for him to urgently outline his transformation plans.

She said her party would support the minster "in making difficult decisions" but added that he "needs to recognise that tough decisions do now lie ahead and he cannot ignore the responsibility he faces".

Ms McAllister said: "I look forward to the minister bringing forward constructive proposals to the assembly chamber to allow vital reforms to take place."