THE director of communications at the Department of Health has compared critics of the health system to controversial commentator Katie Hopkins.
David Gordon, a former BBC journalist who took up his £70,000-a-year post in October, claimed the department had been unfairly singled out in relation to failings in the north's crisis-ridden health service.
Speaking at a public event in Belfast yesterday on whether "transformation" could be made in the sector in the absence of power-sharing, the PR chief insisted that a lot of "preparatory" work was being carried out on the back of last year's Bengoa reform report.
But he added: "We are where we are...and we need political leadership...but a lot of work is going on behind-the-scenes and we need to get away from finger pointing at Department of Health. We are (getting into) Katie Hopkins territory," he told an audience at the city's Mac theatre.
Dr George O'Neill, a Belfast GP who attended the event, said it was clear Mr Gordon's criticism was directed at the media, which was "not very helpful".
"His job is to open up a means of communication at large with the public and clinicians so they can understand what's happening in the health service - but doctors are not being properly communicated with."
Over the past month the Department of Health has come under increasing pressure in relation to reduced social care packages and poor workforce planning - particularly in the area of nursing.
Earlier this week the Irish News reported on concerns around the department's failure to assess the number of registered nurses required to work in the north's private care nursing homes over the next decade as part of a major workforce plan.
Professor Deirdre Heenan, director of the health and wellbeing research centre at Ulster University, challenged Mr Gordon on the rationale for £1 million cuts to the nursing degree course places (which the Department funds) earlier this year - a decision that was reversed at the eleventh hour.
She said there were failures on the ground and cited the example of her 76-year-old mother who travelled to Daisy Hill hospital in Newry for an "urgent" diagnostic appointment - only to be told to go home as the medic was on a "training day".
"This type of management is appalling and yet no-one is held to account in our health service. No-one knows who is leading it. Targets are not being met and diluted. There is no accountability and a lack of transparency."
Dr Mark Taylor, who sat on the Bengoa reform team and is currently working closely with senior civil servants at the department, also admitted he had experienced "months of sheer frustration" in being unable to implement frontline change due to the political instability.
