She said,
"The Health Service is one of our most important national institutions and the DUP wants to see investment and reform that can Fix our NHS. The last two years have reinforced to us all just how important the NHS is, but most of all how we must value and reward our health staff properly for the vital service they perform.
We have a five-point plan to build a better Northern Ireland and that includes a commitment to train more GPs and to deliver an additional 750,000 hospital assessments and procedures.
GPs are the first point of contact for many people and we know the pressures facing surgeries across Northern Ireland. I know those pressures are particularly acute in many rural areas such as Fermanagh & South Tyrone. We have made some steps in the right direction, but it must be backed up with a strategic and ambitious funding package. The DUP is committed to ensuring there are more GPs providing that front-line service for the people of Northern Ireland.
That vital work in GP surgeries can help reduce the pressure facing our hospitals. Alongside that we want to see the NHS resourced to deliver its full elective capacity and on top of that will provide an additional 750,000 hospital assessments and procedures. Far too many people are spending years on waiting lists and delivering extra assessments and procedures can ensure people are diagnosed and treated more quickly. That not only reduces the pressures currently faced, but sees people treated before conditions worsen and require even more attention.
Whilst other parties want to take Northern Ireland in the wrong direction with division and uncertainty, the DUP is focused on the issues that matter to everyone."