Doug Beattie of the UUP is up next. He asks his ministerial colleague if he can give urology patients in the Southern Trust assurances that it is a safe place and that they are receiving appropriate treatment.

Robin Swann responds that he can give that assurance.

Image source, NI Assembly

Sinn Féin’s Linda Dillon asks about delays in urology services as a result of treatment, and how this “dent” of confidence “may well lead to people not bringing themselves forward”.

Robin Swann says the Southern Trust will be working to ensure that any of Mr O’Brien’s patents who require follow ups, will be “conducted by other consultants in the urology team”.

Liz Kimmins of Sinn Féin ass the minister to confirm if annual appraisals were carried out “with the individual involved”.

“I don’t have that information with me to date,” responds Robin Swann adding that he will update the house when he does.

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Dolores Kelly of the SDLP says Mr O’Brien “was held in the highest, and continues by many, to be held in the highest regard”.

She asks if the terms of reference of the inquiry will look at events preceding the inquiry by the Southern Trust.

The minister says the terms of reference for the inquiry have yet to be finalised.

“This is probably one of the most disturbing and concerning health statements I’ve heard in this chamber in the 17 years I’ve been an MLA,” says John O’Dowd of Sinn Féin.

He questions the “culture in the health service”.

Robin Swann responds “there are many fine consultants working across our health and social care system”.

Turning to work between trusts and consultants, the minister says he hopes this is something the inquiries can shed light on.

“It brings me no pleasure announcing two public inquiries on the same day because I think that indicates the concern that I have as health minister that things need to change,” adds the minister.

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Trevor Clarke of the DUP raises concerns about consultants working both for the trust and privately.

He asks if the inquiry will also look at this issue.

The health minister makes a call to anyone who was treated privately by Mr O’Brien to come forward to help assist the inquiry and to receive the support they require.

Paula Bradshaw of Alliance says those who have been receiving private political briefings from Neurology Inquiry chair Brett Lockhart and panel member Professor Hugo Mascie-Taylor know that they wanted it to have statutory status.

She says the common factor between the problem in the Southern Trust, Muckamore and others "is clinical governance".

Ms Bradshaw wants to know if there will be a wider process "to improve this".

The minister says he does not think the problem is "systemic" across the health service but when cases like this do arise.

Robin Swann adds that there will be "a strong thread of recommendations" arising from the inquiries.

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Health Committee Deputy Chair Pam Cameron of the DUP asks the minister for an assurance that there will be "timely and urgent" engagement with patients.

"I can give the member that assurance," says Mr Swann.

Colin McGrath of the SDLP asks the minster about references in his statement to “significant numbers of work that is carried out at home or in a non-clinical setting.

He asks the minister to “detail how widespread that practice is”.

Robin Swann responds that the department is not aware of specific number yet relating to the private patients that Mr O’Brien was seeing.

The minister calls for those who fell into this cohort to come forward to the Southern Trust.

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Alan Chambers, the minister’s UUP colleague, says these are “distressing and concerning issues”.

He refers to the “increased powers and scope” that the Neurology Inquiry will have as it is has ben converted to a statutory public inquiry, and asks if the minister is satisfied that the review hasn’t been “impeded in its work”.

The minister says “the basis and need for this conversion for a statutory public inquiry” is to ensure that the Neurology Inquiry team have all the information they need to make recommendations in their report.

Mr Swann adds that he does not see the conversion as hindering the work of the inquiry.

Colm Gildernew of Sinn Féin is the chair of the Health Committee.

He welcomes the minister’s decision to launch a public inquiry into urology at the Southern Trust.

The MLA asks for more information about the terms of reference for the urology inquiry, as well a breakdown of a timeline for next steps.

The minister says his department received an early alert from the Southern Health Trust in July 2020 and says the trust had already taken a number of actions.

Weekly progress calls have been ongoing with the trust, adds Mr Swann.

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Jonathan Buckley of the DUP also sits on the Health Committee.

He asks the minister if he agrees that there would be merit to “examine” Mr Aidan O’Brien’s “entire time” at the Southern Trust.

Robin Swann says “the first look-back was from the period from 1 January to 30 June 2020”.

He adds “that timeframe will be looked at” adding that “it is important to instil as much confidence in the patients,” says the minister.

Robin Swann says the trust also established a review group to assess the findings of the initial look-back exercise and to explore the potential need for a further look-back and he is now able to present the review group's findings.

"The review group has looked at the timeframe from 1 January 2019 until 30 June 2020 and during this time there were a total of 2,327 patients under his care," says the minister.

He adds that so far, nine cases have been identified that meet the threshold for a Serious Adverse Incident (SAI) review and a further six cases are currently being reviewed to establish if those patients have come to harm.

Mr Swann says the consultant had a significant amount of private practice and "many of these patients may be unknown to the Southern Trust or the wider HSC (Health and Social Care) system".

The trust is operating an advice line for concerned patients. It is available Monday – Friday, 10:00 - 15:00 and the number is 0800 4148520.

The minister says he is taking a number of actions including establishing a Urology Assurance Group, chaired by the permanent secretary of his department, "to provide external oversight of the various work streams arising from the initial look-back exercise initiated by the Southern Trust".

The Royal College of Surgeons has been commissioned to carry out an independent review of a sample of the clinical cases to determine whether a further, more extensive, look-back or patient recall by the Trust is required, he adds.

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In relation to the private patients who are not known to the Southern Trust, Mr Swann says he has contacted the consultant's solicitor asking him to outline how he will ensure that those private patients are alerted to issues arising and that their immediate healthcare needs are being met.

"The fourth action, therefore, that I intend to take is to establish a statutory public inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005," the minister says.

Mr Swann adds that a significant element in all of this work "will be to communicate and support patients and their families as much as possible in the coming weeks and months".

The minister also announces that he intends "to convert the Independent Neurology Inquiry to a statutory public inquiry".

This is to ensure that inquiry chair Brett Lockhart and his team "have timely and unfettered access to all relevant information," he adds.

Returning to the issues at the Southern Trust, Mr Swann says: "I will do all that I can to ensure that lessons are learnt, to prevent situations such as these occurring again".

Health Minister Robin Swann tells MLAs he has to report "a further occurrence of serious concerns about the clinical practice of a hospital consultant".

The consultant in question is Mr Aidan O’Brien who retired from the Southern Trust earlier this year.

"The trust informed my department that on 7 June 2020 it became aware of potential concerns regarding delays of treatment of surgery patients who were under the care of the consultant urologist," the minister explains.

He adds that the trust became aware that two out of 10 patients, listed for surgery under the care of this consultant, were not on the hospital’s Patient Administration System at that time.

An "initial look-back" into safety concerns concentrated on "whether patients had a stent inserted during a particular procedure and if this stent had been removed within the clinically recommended timeframe".

"The initial lookback identified concerns with 46 cases within a total of 147 patients who had the particular procedure," Mr Swann says.

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The minister says that when his department was contacted on the 31 July, the trust confirmed the following actions had already been taken:

• Discussions with the GMC (General Medical Council) employer liaison service had been conducted;

• The case had been discussed with NHS Resolutions who recommended restrictions of clinical practice;

• Restrictions were put in place by the trust preventing the consultant from undertaking clinical work within the trust and denying him access to or the ability to process patient information;

• The trust also requested that the consultant voluntarily undertake to refrain from seeing any private patients at their home or any other setting and that he would confirm the same in writing; and

• A preliminary discussion was also undertaken with the Royal College of Surgeons Invited Review Service regarding the consultant’s practice and the potential scope and scale of any further look-back exercise which may be required.

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Speaker Alex Maskey brings members to order after opening the session to the public.

The first item of business is a statement by the Health Minister Robin Swann about clinical concerns within urology at the Southern Trust.

Hello and welcome to Tuesday's live coverage of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The health minister is back in the chamber to kick-off proceedings with a statement on clinical concerns about urology the Southern Health and Social Care Trust.

Image source, Tori Watson

MLAs are due to spend most of the day debating TUV MLA Jim Allister's Functioning of Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill.

Question Time however will still appear at its usual slot of 14:00. Today the education and finance ministers will be grilled.

Join us for live updates from 10:30.