O’neill: we won’t resist use of Army to save lives
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MICHELLE O’neill and Robin Swann were yesterday united as they delivered the message that the use of army medics in hospitals must not be used as a political football.
The Deputy First Minister said Sinn Fein’s priority is to “save lives”, adding that “we do not rule out any measures”.
“Any effort to make the threat posed by Covid-19 into a green and orange issue is divisive and a distraction,” she said.
In a sign of the depth of the crisis facing hospitals, Mr Swann said a request for military assistance had been accepted by the Ministry of Defence.
Asked if he was concerned about dissident republicans exploiting the situation, he said: “If anybody sees this as an opportunity to make a political statement, or even target any individual within our health service, I would say ‘shame on them’ and shame on anybody that has anything to do with them.”
However, health union Unison said it had not been consulted, and it would be writing to Mr Swann “seeking information as to what other avenues of support have been sought”.
And Aontu councillor Emmet Doyle said the “idea will go down like a tonne of bricks in many nationalist and republican areas”.
ULSTER Unionist Health Minister Robin Swann and Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Michelle O’neill have both said the deployment of UK military medics in Northern Ireland hospitals must not be used as a political football.
In a sign of the depth of the crisis facing hospitals across Northern Ireland, Mr Swann yesterday announced that he had made a request for military assistance for Northern Ireland’s health service, which has been accepted by the MOD.
The Military Aid to the Civil Authorities agreement will see over 100 medical technicians provide nursing support to health trusts here during the current Covid-19 surge, the peak of which is expected to last for at least another week.
Hundreds of potentially life-saving cancer operations have been postponed as a result of the rise in seriously ill Covid patients, while medics have warned they may have to ration critical care treatment amid fears the health service could become overwhelmed.
Giving her reaction to the move, Ms O’neill told RTE News: “Any effort to make the threat posed by Covid-19 into a green and orange issue is divisive and a distraction.”
She said Sinn Fein’s priority is to “save lives”, adding that “we do not rule out any measures”.
The dramatic development came as the Department of Health announced a further 22 Covid-19 deaths and 905 newly diagnosed cases of the virus. Meanwhile, the pressure in hospitals remains at crisis level, with 793 Covid-19 inpatients, 67 of which were in critical care beds.
Mr Swann welcomed the assistance from military personnel, which he said will help ease the burden on exhausted staff, although he refused to provide further detail on the roles that will be undertaken by the medics.
Asked whether he is concerned that dissident republicans might exploit the opportunity to launch an attack on military personnel, he said: “There has been a lot of work, we have been discussing this specific request over the last couple of weeks.
“That bit of groundwork has been done, it is ongoing and for any of those who would seek to make a target out of our health service at this point in time, I would say they better not be in Northern Ireland when they see the pressures on our communities, that are affecting every home, every community, no matter what race, religion or political persuasion.
“If anybody sees this as an opportunity to make a political statement, or even target any individual within our health service, I would say ‘shame on them’ and shame on anybody that has anything to do with them.”
The minister was also asked whether he is expecting any resistance from within the Executive to the move, to which he said: “I sincerely hope not.
“I understand the political presentational challenges that it may bring, but what I will say to anyone who sees this, they should only see this as an opportunity to support our health service at a critical time.
“That’s why I made the request that I did and it’s the spirit the request was made in and it’s not to make any political point, it’s not about any presentational point either — it’s about providing that critical support to those people working in our health service, who are under pressure and who will remain under pressure for the next number of weeks.
“It’s about critical support rather than anything else.”
However, health union Unison sparked a backlash after a Facebook post revealed its discontent over the action.
It said it had not been consulted, and has demanded to see information in relation to staffing pressures.
“We have also asked for clarity in relation to the hospitals at which military personnel could be deployed. There must be full transparency in relation to staff pressures across our hospitals,” it said. “We will be writing formally to the Minister urgently seeking detailed reasons for this decision, including seeking information as to what other avenues of support have been sought, such as securing additional staffing from private sector healthcare providers.
“We will be demanding clarity in relation to the roles and responsibilities that military personnel may take.”
While Ms O’neill comments appear to suggest Sinn Fein will not oppose the deployment of the military in hospitals, Aontu councillor Emmet Doyle said it was “not appropriate and would cause deep division”.
Mr Doyle continued: “The British Army will not been viewed by many of the people I represent as being concerned with medical care.
“The idea will go down like a tonne of bricks in many nationalist and republican areas.
“It would be more appropriate for the Department of Health to commission the services of other trained medics such as the Order of Malta or St John’s Ambulance or the Red Cross who have the full support of the community.”
The DUP vice chair of the Assembly’s Health Committee, Pam Cameron MLA, said it was “absolutely right that all sources of assistance are being utilised in the battle against Covid-19”.
‘If anyone sees this as a chance to make a political statement, or even target any individual, I would say ‘shame on them’’