Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has written to Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly stating it is “essential that prompt clarity” is given on pledges of extra money to alleviate hospital waiting list pressures.
Mr Nesbitt told the First Minister and deputy First Minister that he hopes the hopes of patients and healthcare workers raised by the publication of the Programme for Government “will not be dashed”.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill (left) and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly (right) with the Stormont Executive’s Programme for Government on Monday (David Young/PA)
The PFG published on Monday includes a pledge to spend up to £80 million a year to prevent waiting lists getting any longer and £135 million a year to reduce them.
Mr Nesbitt had previously said he only became aware of the health commitment when he received a final version of the PFG last week.
Mr Nesbitt wrote to Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly on Tuesday seeking clarity.
He has also written to Finance Minister John O’Dowd and shared the correspondences with members of Stormont’s Health Committee.
In his letter to the First and deputy First Minister, seen by the PA news agency, Mr Nesbitt said the final version of the PFG “came as a pleasant surprise to me given that they included the £215m pledge”.
He added: “I was obviously not going to object or vote against such a commitment being formally adopted.”
Mr Nesbitt added: “This PfG pledge has the potential to give much-needed optimism to our health service and deliver large volumes of activity, including assessments and treatments, to many thousands of our patients.
“It is now essential that prompt clarity be provided on the availability of these additional monies and the timescale for its release.
“Early confirmation will enable me to maximise the benefits from the investment.
“As you will appreciate, the earlier that clarity can be provided, the greater the planned and strategic benefit that will be realised.
“Despite the Programme for Government now being in the public domain, there remains some uncertainty about the £215m pledge.”
The minister added: “The prospect of an additional £215m per year for reducing waiting lists has significantly raised the hopes of patients and health care workers.
“I very much hope those hopes will not be dashed.”
Speaking to the media earlier in the day Mr Nesbitt said the waiting list pledge in the PFG “represented a change of heart in terms of The Executive Office and the Executive”.
He added: “But I do want to say to the Minister for Finance, and to the First Minister and deputy First Minister, show me the money.
“Because now that that is out in the public domain, that has raised expectations for people on the waiting lists, for the professionals, for me, for everybody.
“The worst thing we could do is not deliver on that.”
Asked why he had not asked for clarity before he agreed to the publication of the PFG, Mr Nesbitt said: “I asked for that surety, we asked for that money before and those bids were not successful.
“But I am not for walking away.
“I am going to go in and do the best job I can with the money that is available to me, with the workforce that is available to me with the resources that are available to me.”
The minister said that reading the PFG: “it is clear this is to some extent aspirational.”
He said: “It talks about ‘with Executive support we will have up to £135 million’, not we will have £135 million.
“I am just going to work with what I have got and I am going to continue to argue for what I need.”
Asked if the expectations of patients were to be dashed again, Mr Nesbitt added: “I don’t think the bubble has burst and I think if the bubble were to burst it would be a terrible condemnation of the Executive, for raising expectations, only to dash them.
“We are talking about people who are living in pain, maybe have been living in pain for years and now they are suddenly being given hope for the first time in a long time that they may get some relief.
“So, it would be worse than cruel to dash those hopes.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said: “The health service is a priority for the Executive with this being reflected as one of the nine pillars in the Programme for Government.
“The Draft 2025-26 Budget is currently out for consultation. Once this is complete, the Executive will agree the final Budget including the final allocations for each individual department.”