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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC
SAFETY COMMITTEE Present: Dr J Hendron (Chairman) Apologies: Ms C Hanna In Attendance: Mr G Martin (Committee Clerk)
Dr Hendron took the Chair at 2:05pm.
Private Session 1. Chairman's Opening Remarks The Chairman advised members that an invitation had been extended to the Committee to attend a networking session for health interest groups as part of the Royal College of Nursing's Political Leadership Programme, which will take place at 7:30 pm in Parliament Buildings on Thursday, 04 October 2001.
2. Minutes of the Last Meeting The minutes of the last meeting were agreed.
3. Matters Arising i. Mrs Robinson drew members' attention to the current crisis in the Ulster Hospital, detailed in a newspaper article, resulting in 18 patients having to wait on trolleys, eight on chairs, with a further 40 bed blocks due to a lack of community care packages.
Agreed: i. The Chairman will write to the Minister to request that she consider releasing immediately the £2m that she has earmarked for 20 additional beds to come on stream in June 2002, in order to offset the current pressures leading to unacceptable "trolley waits". ii. The Clerk will arrange an urgent informal lunchtime Committee meeting with representatives from the medical profession at the Ulster Hospital, together with a cross-party delegation from the Health Committee of Castlereagh Borough Council, to discuss the crisis. iii. In the context of ever increasing financial pressures on the health service, Ms Ramsey raised a concern about the level of pay increases for Senior Executives in the HSS Boards and Trusts, Agreed: The Clerk will write to the Director of Finance in the Department to seek his comments on the Department's control of current level of pay awards for Senior Executives in the Health Sector and whether its powers are constrained by contractual liabilities. iv. Agreed: The Committee will take up the offer by the Minister to meet with it on Friday, 12 October to discuss the current crises afflicting the Health Service. This additional meeting will be scheduled for 10:30 am on Friday, 12 October 2001 in Room 144, Parliament Buildings.
Public Session 4. Inquiry into Delivery of Cancer Services in NI: Presentation by Action Cancer Panel Members: Mr Peter Quigley, Chief Executive Ms Nicola Nicolls, Director of Development and Policy
The Chairman welcomed the panel to the meeting at 2:15 pm, after which Mr Quigley gave a presentation based on Action Cancer's written submission. This was followed by a question-and-answer session, and the entire proceedings are recorded separately in verbatim minutes of evidence. The Chairman thanked the panel, and they left the meeting at 3:20 pm. Mr Kelly left the meeting at 3:20 pm. The meeting was suspended at 3:20 pm and resumed at 3:22 pm.
Private Session
5. Preparation for Meeting with the Minister The Clerk produced a list of priority topics for the meeting with the Minister, which he will group into clusters to facilitate the structure of the discussions.
6. Programme for Government The Committee noted a paper from the Director of Finance outlining current and projected slippages against Departmental targets as set out in the Programme for Government 2001/02, and it will continue to keep a watching brief as further deadlines are reached.
7. AOB i. Agreed: The Committee deferred taking action on an invitation from the Committee of the Centre to input to its consideration of the Executive's response to the Disability Rights Task Force report 'From Exclusion to Inclusion'. ii. Agreed: The Committee noted a request from Omagh District Council for the Committee to meet with the Campaign Steering Group in respect of the acute hospital provision in the rural west, which will be considered at a later date. iii. Agreed: The Clerk will prepare a draft response to the draft Programme for Government, which has a consultation deadline of 20 November 2001. iv. Members received advance copies of the Minister's consultation paper on the outcomes of the review into Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. v. The Chairman thanked Ms MacReynolds for her valuable assistance during her period of secondment to the Committee and wished her every success in her future career in the NHS.
8. Date and Time of the Next Meeting The next Committee meeting will be at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, 10 October 2001 in Room 135, Parliament Buildings. The meeting ended at 4:00 pm. DR J HENDRON |
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