Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA has today confirmed the nomination of Robbie Butler MLA as Northern Ireland’s next Minister of Health.

Jon Burrows MLA said:

“I said yesterday that we would move at pace to provide the leadership our health service requires, and today we have done exactly that. I am pleased to announce the nomination of Robbie Butler as Northern Ireland's next Minister of Health. He has my full confidence and the full backing of our Assembly team.

“The role of Health Minister is bigger than any one individual or party. At moments when the Executive has faced its most demanding challenges, this party has stepped forward, and we do so again today. Our commitment to patients, to health and social care staff, and to meaningful reform remains unbroken.

“Our health service can deliver outstanding care. The challenge is ensuring people can access it more quickly, whether that is a GP appointment, an ambulance response, a diagnostic scan, consultant care or surgery.

“We will work with urgency to build a safer, faster, fairer and more sustainable health service, one that is quicker to access and delivers for everyone, no matter where they live in Northern Ireland. That is the Northern Ireland we work for.”

Ulster Unionist Health Minister Robbie Butler MLA said:

“My political mainstay has always been 'Hope Not Fear', and that is rooted in how I approached my 16 years in the Fire and Rescue Service and the past 10 years across my political brief. I want Northern Ireland to have a world-class health service that people can access more quickly.

“When you are dealing with people's lives, health and wellbeing, decisions must be guided by clinical evidence, by the experience of those on the frontline, by the needs of patients and by the confidence of communities right across Northern Ireland. There should always be one objective: to make things better for everyone. That is exactly the approach I will bring to this role.

“I see at close hand the extraordinary commitment of the people who keep our health and social care service running, often in the most difficult circumstances. I know what we ask of them, and I know how much patients and families depend on them. To now be asked to serve them as Minister of Health is an enormous privilege and an even greater responsibility.

“I take on this role with no illusions about the scale of the challenge. Too many people are waiting too long for care, too many staff are working under relentless pressure and too many parts of our system are struggling to meet the needs being placed upon them. Those problems will not be solved overnight, and I will not insult people by pretending otherwise. But neither will I accept that they are inevitable.

“I will bring urgency, curiosity and a willingness to challenge where I believe it is necessary. Improvement and meaningful reform cannot simply be discussed in strategies or measured by changes to structures. People should be able to see and feel the difference in the care they receive.

“My approach will be straightforward: listen most to the people who deliver and use our services, take decisions and be accountable for them. I intend to spend as much time as possible seeing health and social care at the front line, not from behind a desk. That was an important part of Mike Nesbitt's approach too, and I intend to build on the momentum he created while bringing my own ideas, energy and priorities to the role.

“This is an enormous responsibility, but it is one I take on with determination and optimism. There is no time to waste. I am ready to get to work.”