The NHS cannot be allowed to “slip slowly away”, Northern Ireland’s top doctor has said.
Chief medical officer Professor Sir Michael McBride said staff who work in the health service in the region have a right to expect better than the budgetary pressures currently being faced.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland is facing a significant funding gap in the current financial year and the region has the worst hospital waiting lists in the UK.
But in a blog to mark the 75th birthday of the NHS, Sir Michael said it would be a shame if the serious problems health is facing overshadowed all that there is to celebrate.
In our latest #HSC75 #NHS75 blog, Chief Medical Officer Prof Sir Michael McBride says that while there are significant challenges facing our health service, there is still so much about it to celebrate and cherish.
Read more here ⬇️https://t.co/j6wb7vrppP pic.twitter.com/ZkWCFBOnEJ
— Department of Health (@healthdpt) June 30, 2023
He said: “There is, of course, also much to concern us in the current situation.
“The Covid-19 pandemic legacy, waiting lists, emergency departments under severe strain all year round, staffing shortfalls, budgetary pressures, industrial action – it is a formidable litany of problems.”
He said it was time to consider the founding values of the NHS and to re-commit to them.
Sir Michael continued: “Sadly, it has been eroded to a degree in recent years. Hospital waiting lists have undoubtedly deepened health inequalities, with the better off able to access more timely care.
“It is not too late to arrest that trend.
“We should not let the NHS as we know it slip slowly away.
“It is my professional view that this would be a profound mistake, with serious consequences for the health of the population.
“I also believe that it would fly in the face of public opinion.”
The chief medical officer said the pandemic showed how much people value the health service.
He said: “Staff at all levels constantly displayed superhuman resilience, flexibility, commitment and compassion.
“Despite the unprecedented pressures that beset it, the service did not collapse.
“Now, with the Covid-19 threat continuing to recede, the health and social care system is deeply traumatised by what it has been through; its capacity impaired.
“The current budgetary position adds further to the pressures.
“Our health service and all those who work for it have a right to expect better than this.”
He added: “We owe it so much – for the care provided over the decades and the service it provided during recent, traumatic years.
“As we mark the NHS birthday, let us celebrate what it stands for and commit ourselves to rebuilding this great institution.
“That is an achievable goal.”
