RCS response to Nuffield Trust report on health and social care in Northern Ireland
10 Jul 2019
Responding to the Nuffield Trust’s new report, Change or collapse: Lessons from the drive to reform health and social care in Northern Ireland, Mr Mark Jones, Vice Chair of the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s (RCS) Northern Ireland Board, said:
"The Nuffield Trust’s report echoes many of the concerns the RCS has raised about the impact the political stalemate in Northern Ireland is having on the health and social care system.
"In terms of patients waiting for treatment, according to the report, in early 2019, the list of people waiting over one year in England was equivalent to one person in 48,524. In Northern Ireland, it was equivalent to one person in 16. This situation is quite shocking and completely unacceptable.
"Although health and social care staff continue to work valiantly in the face of challenges, there are serious concerns over the growing gap between patient demand and the capacity of our health system to meet that demand in the current political environment in Northern Ireland."
Notes to editors
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is a professional membership organisation and registered charity, which exists to advance surgical standards and improve patient care.
For more information, please contact the Press Office:
- Telephone: 020 7869 6047/6052
- Email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk
- Out of hours media enquiries: 07966 486832