Public Accounts Committee: Second Report

A press conference to launch the Public Accounts Committee’s second report will be held in the Press Conference Suite, Room B4, Parliament Buildings, Belfast, on Thursday 27 September, at 10.00 am.

All members of the print and broadcast media are invited to attend.

The report will deal with issues raised in the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report on Outpatients: Missed Appointments and Cancelled Clinics, published on 4 September 2007.

The NIAO report focussed on; performance against waiting time targets, lack of adequate oversight over clinic activity, the cost of cancelled clinics and missed appointments, the impact on patient care and the variability of levels of non attendance across Trusts and specialties.

In a typical year over 300,000 outpatients will not be seen at clinics at a cost of around £12 million to the Health Service.

The report also considered action proposed by the Department to address the problem of non-attendance.

The Public Accounts Committee produced its report after hearing evidence from the Accounting Officer from Department of Health, Social Services and departmental officials.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR:

The PAC Committee members are:-

Mr John O’Dowd, (Sinn Féin) Chairperson
Mr Roy Beggs, ( Ulster Unionist Party) Deputy Chairperson
Mr Trevor Lunn ( Alliance party)
Mr Jonathan Craig (Democratic Unionist Party)
Mr Simon Hamilton (Democratic Unionist Party)
Mr David Hilditch (Democratic Unionist Party)
Ms Dawn Purvis (Progressive Unionist Party)
Mr Willie Clarke (Sinn Féin)
Mr Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Féin)
Mr John Dallat (Social Democratic and Labour Party)
Mr Patsy McGlone (Social Democratic and Labour Party)

Standing Orders under Section 60(3) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 have provided for the establishment of the Public Accounts Committee (the Committee). The main statutory function of the Committee is to consider accounts and the reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland (C&AG) laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The C&AG is head of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) and is empowered to investigate any area of expenditure and has a statutory right of access to all files and papers in Departments and public bodies.

Information about today’s meeting can be obtained from the Information Officer –

Mr Kieran Dougan
Information Office
Parliament Buildings
Belfast
Tel. 028 90521642
Email: kieran.dougan@niassembly.gov.uk