Robinson speaks of two-tier health service – ‘wealthy stay healthy while rest wait’

The East Derry MP told MLAs of personally being on a waiting list and being told he would have an 18-month wait.

"Eighteen months came and went, then 19 months, 20 months and 21 months. When I became aware that the consultant also carried out work in the private sector, I queried, merely out of interest, how soon I could be seen.

"The answer from the consultant's PA was, ‘Can you attend next Thursday?’. The take-home message for me was that the wealthy can stay healthy while the rest of us just have to wait,” he said.

Mr. Robinson argued ‘capacity in the private sector should be grasped’.

"The use of private hospitals and providers across the British Isles and further afield is critical and looks like the only short-term option. This should not be focused just on surgery but on the full suite of professional skills and services needed to reduce the current backlog.

"I accept that there have been gains in recent times with the ongoing development of dedicated elective sites, including regional day case and overnight stay centres.

"However, significant further expansion is required if we are to see better progress in dealing with waiting list backlogs. We must maximise outcomes from additional investment.

"Continuing with the same level of small contracts with independent providers cannot deliver the tangible progress that we crave. The Department of Health must be seizing opportunities to forge larger national and local partnerships with the NHS in other parts of the UK and independent providers to crack down on waiting lists,” he said.

Mr. Robinson said many have no option but to use their life savings to buy treatment.

"These are good, decent, salt-of-the-earth people who may have worked themselves to the bone all their days and paid into the NHS only to be let down. I mean this with the greatest of respect, but, while they part with money that they can ill afford, others cannot do that.

"Those people descend into greater ill health, which, ultimately, becomes more complex and expensive to treat. Some even die. That is the stark reality,” he said.

Referring to statistics for September 2023 that showed 429,000 people were waiting on a first outpatient appointment, Mr. Robinson warned: “Some of those people will die; at best, their quality of life will be poor. Those waiting times are the worst in the UK and amongst the poorest outcomes in Western Europe.

"We also heard earlier that one quarter of all cancer diagnoses between 2012 and 2017 were made in emergency departments (EDs). A postcode lottery is being played out in cancer treatment waiting times, with the Western Trust seeing much better performance towards meeting targets than other areas.”

Mr. Robinson also paid tribute to his father George, who recently retired after 18 years as MLA.

“Unfortunately, having enjoyed only 11 months of retired life, he was struck down by ill health. Typical of the man that George is, however, he has fought his way back.

"He is living independently again, he is back driving and he is back enjoying following Irish League football,” he said.

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