The Upper Bann MLA said, “I attempted to bring this issue to the floor of the Assembly earlier this week and secure some clarity from the Minister directly. I have been asking questions of the Department for several months and I know journalists have also been making inquiries but there has been a lack of detail as to what is going on.
We are seeing problems arising time and time again, particularly within the Belfast Trust and that raises issues for within the Department of Finance and the Department of Health but most particularly for the Belfast Trust. Whilst money is being spent remedying issues in buildings just a few years old there are patients in overcrowded wards or improvements to Emergency Departments that are not happening.
We need to see both transparency and accountability from the Trust and the Department in relation to these. Most particularly on the Acute Mental Health building we should be told what has been going on within that unit, what the cost of repairs will be, how long those repairs will take and how patients will be impacted.
These are acutely ill and vulnerable people who must be at the centre of all the plans to deal with these problems. They are accommodated currently within a building that is less than ten years old yet some are saying it is not fit for purpose. I would urge the Minister to make a statement to the Assembly at the earliest opportunity and answer the key questions which are being asked.”