ULSTER Unionist Jo-Anne Dobson is to write to the head of the north's Civil Service over an email sent by a senior civil servant raising concerns that health staff were expressing political opinions on social media.
Richard Pengelly, the Department of Health's permanent secretary, recently emailed the chief executives of the north's health trusts, saying he was concerned by "overtly political tweets from colleagues across the service".
Mr Pengelly, who is married to DUP candidate Emma Little Pengelly, said staff were health service employees and "such public statements are not appropriate".
However Ms Dobson questioned Mr Pengelly's intervention, which came shortly before voters go to the polls tomorrow.
The UUP candidate said she had spoken to dozens of health workers about the email.
"Setting aside the fact they are perplexed that the supposedly busiest permanent secretary in the country has time to monitor social media accounts, they are exasperated that of all the issues in the health service he should be focusing on at the moment, he decided this was one (of) the most important," she said.
Ms Dobson said she will write to the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Sir Malcom McKibbin, to ask him "whether Mr Pengelly's actions were appropriate, especially in light of his relationship as the husband of a DUP candidate running in the current election and his presence at a counting centre last year, and if not what action will be taken against him".
