Our health crisis won’t be solved by Assembly

YOUR editorial (Comment, January 15) calling for our politicians to act in the light of the crisis in our health and social care system will have little benefit beyond establishing a ministerial decision-making platform to allow decades of overdue reforms to proceed (if “proceed” is the right word).

The crisis in our healthcare system happened under the watch of a devolved Assembly.

The only positive, fundamental restructuring of health in Northern Ireland came under direct rule, when our 18 healthcare trusts were reduced to five.

Transforming Your Care (TYC) in 2011 sought a modest shift of services away from the acute hospitals into the community. It required funding to do so, which was never provided by the Executive. TYC was effectively dead within two years.

In 2014 , Sir Liam Donaldson, the former Chief Medical Officer for England, was asked to review our health service. He recommended our politicians accept in advance the recommendations of an impartial international team of health experts to deliver a world-class system of healthcare and to implement the findings.

Of course, the arrogance and hubris of our political class would not accept this. Their response? Yet another review, chaired by Professor Bengoa, whose major achievement in Spain was to get political consensus to reform as a first step to transformation. Sounds familiar? In their defence, our political class, of whatever shade, trot out the same argument: British Government austerity and a lack of resources is the sole reason for the crisis. Really?

How convenient, while still being able to displace tens of millions to pet projects, such as the Social Investment Fund. I fail to see how the same political class which “led” our health service to the present crisis can be expected to implement sweeping reform.

CARPE DIEM By email