Northern Ireland

Senior civil servant warns that current spending on health means lower expectations of what system can deliver

Department of Health permanent secretary Peter May. Picture by William Cherry/ Press Eye
Department of Health permanent secretary Peter May. Picture by William Cherry/ Press Eye Department of Health permanent secretary Peter May. Picture by William Cherry/ Press Eye

THE SENIOR civil servant left in charge of the Department of Health in the absence of a Stormont executive has said the public may need to lower its expectations of what the regional health and social care system can deliver.

Peter May yesterday told a conference in Belfast that it was becoming increasingly difficult with available resources to deliver a health system that meets people's needs.

The Department of Health permanent secretary's remarks came just 24 hours after Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris pledged increased funding for health to "address critical pressures", as he set a budget for the current financial year.

However, Mr Heaton-Harris said the Department of Education needed to make significant cuts to its "current spending trajectory".

The secretary of state also warned that water charges may be imposed if an executive is not in place next year.

Speaking yesterday at the annual conference of the regional arm of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, Mr May said that without sustained investment in the health sector, society would need "recalibrate our expectations of what our health and social care system can deliver".

"We all want to get back to a health service that provides timely care to everyone who needs it when they need it – that's far from guaranteed," he said.

"Without sustained funding, it will be impossible."

Mr May said it was often said that a society is judged "by the way it treats the most vulnerable and sick".

"The reality is that today, with the resources available to us, we are finding it increasingly difficult to deliver the health and social care system needed to meet all the demands of the population," he said.

"And the reality is also that our ageing population and advances in medical science mean the gap between demand and capacity is growing year on year, winter on winter."

The DUP's boycott of the power-sharing institutions has been widely blamed for the funding crisis and the failure to set a budget.

However, DUP MLA Diane Forsythe said the process of agreeing Stormont's spending plans started last October yet the then finance minister Conor Murphy "still failed to set a budget".

"Murphy can throw blame around other executive ministers, but the core element of his job was to manage the money and he failed, and now tough decisions are being made in almost every department," she said.

"Rather than helping Stormont departments to deal with the financial reality, Sinn Féin was feeding and creating a false narrative about our public finances."

Alliance deputy leader, Stephen Farry said his party recognised that the public finances were "unsustainable".

"Difficult decisions have been deferred for too long and that has left us ill-equipped to deal with the unprecedented challenges we are currently facing," he said.

"Our priority would be for a restored executive to pursue a medium-term strategic plan for reform, including unlocking the costs of managing a divided society – this would involve an overarching agreement with the Treasury based on invest to save."

It was reported yesterday that more than £320m of spending was approved by three former Stormont ministers without the consent of the Department of Finance, days before they left office last month.

The BBC said it was understood the funding was rubber stamped using ministerial directions from Robin Swann, Deirdre Hargey and Naomi Long.

Mr Swann granted £280m for health expenditure in September, Ms Hargey approved £22.6m in October to continue her department's Discretionary Support Scheme, while Mrs Long pledged £20m for legal aid payments in the same month.