Derry MLA says health service crisis should 'focus minds'

Ms. McLaughlin was speaking after the Western Trust issued a warning recently of the severe pressure it is facing due to record numbers of inpatients, with Altnagelvin operating at well above 100% of its unscheduled bed capacity.

She said that a restored Stormont would not be a panacea for the current issues but was needed to begin the process of transformation.

The Foyle MLA said: “As people across the North get ready for their Christmas celebrations, I know that we will all be thinking about our friends and family on health service waiting lists as well as those sitting in accident and emergency departments waiting to be seen or receiving care. Far too often, our tireless health staff are also taken for granted during this period, many of whom will be giving up a Christmas at home with their families so that they can care for people who need it most.

“I have lost count the number of times myself or SDLP colleagues have been contacted by people who are furious over an experience with the health service. Stories of people in their 80s and 90s being forced to wait hours for ambulances, or even days in A&E with no comfort whatsoever are sadly becoming the norm, but we can’t allow ourselves to be numb to them. People deserve so much better.

“For nearly two years we have been without a government and in that time we have been powerless to do anything about the crisis unfolding in our health service. This situation hasn’t developed overnight, for years we have been delaying much needed transformation and the Covid-19 pandemic brought things to a head, pushing the health service itself and its staff beyond breaking point.

“If we are going to make any progress in dealing with these issues we need an Executive and Assembly in place. We won’t be able to change things overnight, but the longer the current drift continues the worse things are going to get. I would ask the DUP to think about everyone who is suffering as attempts to restore devolution continues. People in need of healthcare can’t afford to wait any longer and the SDLP Opposition will keep fighting to get them the treatment they need.”