Opinion

Analysis: The health service is already in a sorry state without the DUP exacerbating the problem

The DUP's Stormont boycott is deepening the health crisis
The DUP's Stormont boycott is deepening the health crisis The DUP's Stormont boycott is deepening the health crisis

THERE’s nothing more important than people’s health, and accordingly it was made a spending priority by Stormont in last December’s draft budget – albeit somewhat belatedly. The consensus around the executive table six months ago was that major health service reform was long overdue and that such ambition needed to be matched by funding. Health likewise occupied a prominent place in all the election manifestos, reflecting the urgency with which the public expected the issue to be addressed.

But it would appear that for some parties health isn’t an immediate priority. They are instead obsessed with a largely nebulous issue; one that despite their best efforts to dress it up as economic and constitutional catastrophe has very little, if any, impact on ordinary people’s lives. Has the Northern Ireland protocol led to soaring energy costs? Is the Irish Sea border driving down the real value of wages? Do checks on goods arriving at the north’s ports increase the cost of items that were already costing more than in Britain pre-protocol? If there are any cost implications from the protocol they appear negligible and can be easily offset by the long-term economic advantages that are arising as a result of having access to EU and UK single markets. No amount of gurning, gaslighting and goalpost shifting will not alter this reality, yet it’s still acknowledged that some agreed measures must be taken to assuage the concerns of an often overly sensitive political unionism. The EU has made it clear that it will consider reasonable mitigations but Brussels is justifiably wary of becoming a bogeyman that the Tories invoke every time it needs to divert attention from the latest scandal at No 10.

The DUP’s continued boycott of the institutions isn’t the cause of the crisis in the health service but it’s by no means helping things. While Health Minister Robin Swann has taken steps to ensure some reform can continue in the absence of an executive, the longer the DUP huff lasts, the greater pressure Sir Jeffrey Donaldson can expect.

All parties are agreed in principle, at least, on what needs to be done but delays at the beginning of a mandate are unhelpful. Difficult political decisions are best taken in the term following an election as politicians will feel less vulnerable electorally, but the likelihood of collective responsibility for reform and restructuring diminishes as the mandate progresses. Couple this hold-up with the parish pump tendency of Stormont’s parties and it’s very possible that once again the opportunity to make meaningful change in health delivery and outcomes will be lost.

The latest waiting time figures from the Belfast Trust highlight the scale of a problem that if it is to be tackled meaningfully will demand strong, unflinching leadership. Few of Stormont’s parties have yet to demonstrate that they have the necessary vision or mettle to follow through on what full implementation of Bengoa would demand but until the DUP catches itself on, its rivals can criticise and grandstand all they like. The Northern Ireland health service has enough problems without the DUP exacerbating them.