Health and Social Care Bill major achievement

John McCallister MLA, Ulster Unionist Party Spokesperson for Health Social Services and Public Safety has congratulated the Minister for Health Social Services and Public Safety, Michael McGimpsey, as the Health and Social Care (Reform) Bill reached its final stage in the Assembly today. Mr. McCallister believes that the Bill is the most significant piece of legislation to pass through the Assembly to date as it creates an exciting and innovative legislative framework that will facilitate far reaching reform throughout the Health Service in Northern Ireland.

In a statement Mr. McCallister said:

"I congratulate the Minister for successfully seeing this Bill through the Assembly. The Health and Social Care (Reform) Bill represents the greatest accomplishment of devolved Government in our recent history".

"What Northern Ireland needs is a modern responsive and forward looking service with greater integration and less bureaucracy. The Minister has delivered a legislative framework to achieve this whilst also securing greater local involvement and accountability. This Bill lays the foundations to achieve the balance of an approachable and responsive health service that is more streamlined, efficient and which will provide improved frontline services".

"Perhaps the most innovative and exciting aspect of the Bill is the creation of the Regional Agency for Public Health and Social Well-being which will help address the unacceptable situation which presently sees peoples' health and life expectancy being determined by where they live in Northern Ireland. The Health Service is only viable if we have a healthier society otherwise it will crumple under the weight of caring for an increasingly unhealthy population".

"However, the manner in which the DUP handled this Bill is regrettable. They proposed opportunistic amendments that would have seen the removal of an independent regional health promoting agency. The DUP effectively played politics with the peoples' health which was regrettable".

"The completion of this Bill heralds the end of the beginning of this process, the Minister and his officials now have to implement the substantial reforms envisioned in this Bill and I look forward to working with them to this end".