The Health Service is broken - Michelle O'Neill

The Health Service in the North is broken according to First Minister Designate Michelle O’Neill.

Ms O’Neill was speaking during her visit to Derry today to meet business and civic leaders regarding what she described as the city’s “continued journey of transformation”. 

Ms O’Neill was responding to a question from a Derry News reporter about families with members requiring end of life care who were being forced to take patients home from hospital, without domiciliary care packages being in place and then having to visit numerous pharmacies to get the prescribed pain medication. 

Michelle O’Neill said: “I very much agree with you [the Health Service is broken]. That is my assessment too and certainly my experience speaking to many, many people. 

“And there is no doubt we have a shortage of care packages, that is why we have to invest in our Health Service.

“Number one we need an Executive. We need the parties working together. We need to prioritise health and that means delivering on the commitment which Conor Murphy made to invest one billion pounds extra in the Health Service. Let’s start to fix what is wrong because clearly there are things that are wrong. 

“And my hat goes off to all of those people who work in domiciliary care out in our communities trying to do their very, very best. It is predominantly a female workforce. It is predominantly the lowest paid in the Health Service. That is not acceptable. Those people deserve fair pay for going to work to support us and our families in these times,” said Ms O’Neill.

Ms O’Neill added the big job of work to do was to have an Executive.

“We need to start to invest in our Health Service and for all of the parties to put their shoulders to the wheel and actually start to fix what is wrong and support the health care workers.”