Dr Dorman: failure to deliver multiyear budget deeply disappointing for GPs and patients

Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners in Northern Ireland, Dr Laurence Dorman has said that the failure of the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver a multi-year budget is deeply disappointing and has serious consequences for the transformation of our health service

Dr Dorman urged political leaders across Northern Ireland to work together to find a solution.

The Kilkeel GP further commented:

“Years of single year budgets have meant our health service has been reactive and unable to meet the needs of patients. For years we have known that multiyear budgets are needed in Northern Ireland to enable us to plan and deliver health services more effectively. The fact that this is no longer possible solely due to political failure is deeply disappointing and frustrating. After ten years of single year budgets, this multiyear settlement was a vital opportunity and if lost, will have severe consequences.”

“The lack of political stability puts service delivery at risk and inhibits our ability to rollout the multidisciplinary model in general practice, to provide our patients with access to vital services in their communities in a timely way. This also puts important work to tackle our waiting lists and fund our mental health and cancer strategies at risk. The impact this will have on the lives of patients is severe and cannot be underestimated.”

“In the context of huge pressures in general practice and across our health service, healthcare staff, who have worked beyond capacity for many years, will be devastated to learn of this failure today and feel deeply demoralised.”

“We urge all political parties to get back to the table, set aside their differences and work together to find an urgent solution to the immediate healthcare needs of all our patients.”