Ulster Unionist Health Spokesperson Alan Chambers MLA has welcomed the publication of the implementation and funding plan for initiatives to tackle hospital waiting lists.

Alan Chambers said, “Northern Ireland’s hospital waiting lists are awful, and so this is a major step forward that for the first time in a decade we now have a detailed and funded plan to tackle them.

“In particular, I welcomed the recommencement of the £10m Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme from Monday 2nd June.

“The scheme will allow patients who are resident in Northern Ireland and who have been on a waiting list for at least two years to apply to have their surgery performed privately in the Republic of Ireland and claim back the value of the local HSC equivalent rate of performing the procedure.

“The scheme was previously hugely successful and enabled many patients to take themselves out of pain and discomfort, but unfortunately, it ceased when the available funding ran out. Since then, the Minister has been receiving a multitude of representations from members across the Assembly to find the funding to start the scheme up again.

“However, after the Minister announced to the Assembly his intention to reopen the scheme, the DUP health spokesperson, Diane Dodds MLA, speaking during a subsequent debate on waiting times was less enthusiastic about the scheme than some of her party colleagues who were pressing the Minister to get the scheme up and running as a matter of urgency.

"Mrs Dodds queried, “What possible benefits does the scheme really offer?" She suggested that the scheme would not result in more people being treated, a claim that I found rather bizarre, given the huge number of patients who benefited from the previous scheme. The obvious benefit to those who are unable to avail of the scheme is that, as each procedure is carried out in the Republic of Ireland, it moves everyone on the waiting list closer to having their treatment carried out locally. Mrs Dodds went on to say that the scheme just means that companies in Dublin will benefit financially. I am not sure what her difficulty with that is, given that up to 2,000 Northern Ireland patients will be able to utilise the scheme and be taken out of pain and discomfort, while removing a large chunk of patients from the waiting lists and thus shortening waiting times for others.

"There is a certain irony in the position being taken by Mrs Dodds in that, as recently as September last year, she commented that in relation to tackling the waiting list backlog, Northern Ireland cannot do this alone. “We need partners- whether from GB or abroad-   To increase capacity until we can deliver it ourselves.” She referenced a number of United States of America health providers who, whilst being non-profit organisations, I am sure would require to be paid for their services. Perhaps Mrs Dodds' issue with companies benefiting financially only extends to those in the Republic of Ireland? I don’t recall any political negativity when the scheme was previously in operation, indeed, the support for it appeared to be universal.

"Given that Mrs Dodds is the DUP health spokesperson, I would call on the DUP leadership to state if they agree that her lack of support for the reopening of the Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme represents their agreed policy on the issue. When I asked them this question in the Assembly, their response was rather muted. Some clarity from them on the topic would be welcomed.”