Nurse Training Fund Cut By Almost £1m

Funding to train specialist nurses in Northern Ireland has been cut by almost £1 million by the Department of Health.

SDLP Health spokesperson Mark H Durkan has called on the Department's Permanent Secretary, Richard Pengelly, to explain why the decision was made.

He said: "I cannot believe that the Department of Health has taken a unilateral decision to cut the nurse training fund by almost 60% with no consultation.

"This is an outrageous overreach in the absence of a functioning Executive and a decision that flies in the face of the patient-centric model that our health service is adopting through the Bengoa process.

"Historical issues around workforce planning within nursing have meant that the nurses we already have are chronically overworked. This decision will make that situation more acute and the negative outworking will be felt by patients. It just shows a stunning lack of foresight.

"All of this underscores the urgent need to re-establish power-sharing."

Sinn Féin spokesperson for Health Pat Sheehan MLA said: "The cut to training is counter to the transformation agenda set forth by the Professor Bengoa's Expert Panel report and my Sinn Féin colleague, former Health Minister, Michelle O’Neill.

"Everyone recognises the clear need to increase the capacity of HSC staff to meet ever-growing demands placed on the health service. Cutting resources for specialist training for nurses goes against this.

"I have particular concerns that the commitments made in Health and Wellbeing 2026: Delivering Together plan, namely the allocation of a District Nurse and Health Visitors to every GP practice is being abandoned by the Department of Health. This undermines efforts to deliver multi-disciplinary teams in primary care at a time when GPs are under increasing pressure.

"Furthermore it seems that a central pillar of the transformation process prioritised by Minister O’Neill, which is to involve those who deliver and use HSC services in designing transformation, has been ignored with a decision being made without proper engagement from the department."

(CD/LM)