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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE 1. Chairman's Opening Remarks Present: Dr J Hendron (Chairman) In Attendance: Mr G Martin (Committee Clerk) Dr Hendron took the Chair at 2:12 pm.
Private Session The Chairman advised the Committee of an invitation that he had received from the Royal College of Nursing to participate in a group discussion, including the Chairs of the Scottish and Welsh Assemblies, Dr Liam Fox, the Shadow Health Minister, and a Senior Official from the Department of Health in London, at its conference in Harrogate. Agreed: The Clerk will make the arrangements for the Chairman's attendance. 2. Minutes of the Last Meeting The minutes of the last meeting were agreed.
The Clerk will copy the concise document outlining the main principles of the project to members. Agreed: The Clerk will invite Officials from the Food Standards Agency to the meeting of 7 February to explain in more detail the proposed Statutory Rule, Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2001, particularly in relation to its cost implications for local retail butchers.
Public Session 5. Presentation by the Minister on Budget Proposals Panel Members: The Minister, Ms Bairbre de Brún
The Chairman welcomed the Minister and Senior Departmental Officials to the meeting at 2:20 pm, after which the Minister made an introductory statement outlining her proposed spending plans for 2001/02 and Priorities For Action. This was followed by a question-and-answer session, which is summarised in Annex A . While stressing that the 7.6% Budget increase, amounting to a total of £2291m, was very welcome, the Minister stressed that the gap on health and social services expenditure between here and Great Britain was widening, and that the Budget allocation would only go part of the way to address pressures within the Health Service. The Minister added that she would be submitting further bids against the newly created Executive Programme Funds to direct resources to key priorities, and reiterated that she would welcome the Committee's suggestions on how to spread expenditure. She went on to outline a number of service improvements from some £41m available over and above the baseline Budget figures:
In response to a number of members' questions, the Department will write to the Committee providing the following:
The Chairman thanked the Minister and her Officials for both giving of their time and in providing comprehensive and detailed papers on the Budget, Public Service Agreements, and Priorities for Action, and they left the meeting at 4:20 pm. The meeting suspended at 4:20 pm and resumed at 4:26 pm.
Private Session 6. Departmental Consultation Paper: 'Equality Implications of Policies' Agreed: The Committee deferred consideration of its draft response to the consultation document until its meeting on Wednesday, 7 February. Agreed: The Clerk will commission an expert to produce a critical analysis of the review. (i) The Chairman reported that Dr McClelland, Consultant Obstetrician from the City Hospital, had written again to request a meeting with the Committee in relation to the siting of regional maternity services following the recent Judicial Review. Agreed: The Clerk will write the City and Royal Maternity Hospitals, as well as their respective Action Groups, advising that while the Committee would not be taking oral evidence pending the Minister's consultation process, it would welcome their submissions on the chronology of events to date and outlining their respective clinical arguments. (ii) Agreed: The Committee will accept an invitation from the Chief Executive of the Causeway HSS Trust to visit the new Causeway Hospital before the operational opening. The Clerk will liaise with the Trust to arrange a mutually convenient date. (iii) Agreed: The Clerk will arrange for the Committee to visit Bangor Community Hospital in order to gain an insight into the future picture of Primary Care services. (iv) Agreed: The Committee will accept an offer by the Cardiac Surgery Review Team to give it a presentation on the role and process of the review and emerging issues. (v) Agreed: In light of the recent distressing incident where a foetus was found in the van of an employee of the Ulster Hospital, the Clerk will write to the Department requesting that the Minister make a public disclosure as soon as the full facts are established. (vi) Agreed: The Clerk will write to the Chief Executive of the North and West Belfast HSS Trust to request an up-to-date position on the phased resettlement of long-stay patients at Muckamore Hospital. (vii) Agreed: The Clerk will enquire about the current position in relation to the suspension of the Director of the Children's Hospice in Belfast. (viii) Agreed: The Chairman will write to the Department to request its response to a demand for a full public inquiry from the parents of a child whose organs had been removed without authorisation after her death following cardiac surgery in the RVH seven years ago. (ix) Agreed: The Clerk will write to the Department to ask whether it is planned to introduce the cancer treatment known as CHART on the NHS here. The latest research in Europe and the UK show it to be better and more cost-effective than standard treatment, according to the Director General of the Cancer Treatment Campaign.
9. Date and Time of Next Meeting The next Committee meeting will be at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, 7 February 2001 in Room 135, Parliament Buildings. DR J HENDRON February 2001 |
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