Northern Ireland's health service cannot stand still, says Swann

The Department of Health is set to move ahead with the next phase of transforming the health service despite political and budgetary uncertainty.

Health Minister Robin Swann said the system cannot be allowed to stand still.

A cross-party meeting of members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) to discuss the plans took place on Thursday.

Ministers are acting as caretakers due to political disagreement which has blocked the formation of an executive.

They can continue to run their respective departments, but no new decisions, such as agreeing a budget, can be taken without an executive.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said it will not go into an executive until there are significant changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The party has also refused to support the election of a Speaker so the assembly can not sit.

This idea of a plan may sound familiar but what is different this time is that this plan will spell out in detail what a reorganised hospital system could look like.

While this is just a plan, it continues attempts by clinicians, including all the Royal Colleges, to transform how services are delivered and also to reform what's already in place.

Without a functioning government and a recurrent budget, it's difficult to imagine how this plan - or a great deal of it - will become reality anytime soon.

'Not closing or downgrading'

On Thursday, the health minister said plans to reshape hospital care will be released for consultation in the autumn.

These will reveal what reorganising hospitals and supporting services could look like.

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Importantly, it will also reveal where key services could be located.

For instance, recently, elective surgery hubs which will help tackle waiting lists were announced in Musgrave Park Hospital and Omagh.

Robin Swann says the role of some hospitals will change

"We need to change and reform how we provide services in order to deliver a better health service," said Mr Swann.

"Without change, we will simply be condemning patients and staff to more of the same.

"Health reform does not mean closing or downgrading a single hospital.

"We will continue to need every square inch of the current estate," he explained, adding that "the role of some hospitals will change".

The minister is expected to hold further meetings with MLAs to further discuss the challenges facing the health system and the current actions being taken.