Committee for Health

Minutes of Proceedings - 7 January 2025

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Meeting Location: Room 29, Parliament Buildings

Present:

Liz Kimmins MLA (Chairperson)

Danny Donnelly MLA (Deputy Chairperson),

Alan Chambers MLA

Linda Dillon MLA

Diane Dodds MLA

Órlaithí Flynn MLA

Nuala McAllister MLA

Colin McGrath MLA

Present by Video or Teleconference:

Alan Robinson MLA

Apologies:

None

In Attendance:

Keith McBride, Clerk

Roisin Donnelly, Assistant Clerk

Angela McParland, Assistant Clerk

Stephen McGlennon, Clerical Officer

The meeting commenced at 4.01pm in public session.

 

1. Apologies

No apologies were received.

 

2. Emergency Department Pressures – Oral Briefing from the Minister of Health

The Minister of Health, Mike Nesbitt MLA, and the following officials from the Department of Health joined the meeting at 4:02pm:

  • Tracy McCaig, Chief Operating Officer, Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG), DoH;
  • Jennifer Welsh, Chief Executive, Northern Health and Social Care Trust; and
  • Dr Joanne McLean, Director of Public Health, Public Health Agency.

The Minister and the officials briefed the Committee on emergency Department pressures.

The briefing was followed by a question and answer session.

The Chairperson thanked the Minister and the officials for their attendance.

The briefing session was reported by Hansard.

Agreed: The Committee agreedthat officials provide to the Committee: detail on the exact length of time an elderly patient in hospital is given to decide whether or not to avail of a home care package offer before the offer is removed, and the amount of time a package is ‘protected’ when a patient is in hospital for treatment; confirmation of whether the Royal Colleges were involved in planning for this year’s winter pressures plan; and a written briefing from SPPG detailing work carried out in the period between spring and winter 2024 to maximise use of resources to facilitate patient flow out of hospitals efficiently as possible by domiciliary care.

Agreed: The Committee agreedto receive an oral briefing from officials on planning for winter pressures for 2025. The briefing to be held before summer 2025 and to include an analysis of the Department’s handling of winter pressures in 2024.

 

3. Date, Time and Place of the next meeting

The next meeting of the Committee was scheduled to take place at 2.00pm on 16 January 2025.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 6.11pm.

Liz Kimmins MLA

Chairperson, Committee for Health

16 January 2025