NI-Wide waiting list move welcome - Dodds

Diane Dodds said:

“For some time, I have been highlighting the regional disparities and inequalities faced by patients in relation to cancer care.

At our conference, I made clear our belief that a new approach was needed to tackle the waiting list crisis in our health service. Simply throwing more money at the problem will help a little but will not address the backlog or the root causes of the issue.

The DUP believes that organising our waiting lists and the services to tackle them on a Northern Ireland-wide basis is a positive step. This ensures that all those facing a difficult cancer journey have the same time to access care, regardless of where they live. That is both right and fair.

I will continue to champion this approach in other areas of healthcare, through which moving to a regional waiting list model can improve health outcomes. This is a welcome first step, and I commend the Minister for this initiative.”