Paula Bradley
North Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I am especially grateful to all the women who, especially in my first mandate here, were a constant support and encouragement to me as a new MLA. Nothing ever prepares you for this role, but many inside and outside this Building are the glue that holds it all together.”
“I thank them for their support, especially over the last week, with the phone calls, emails, cards and flowers, but, most of all, for allowing me to be part of their lives, sometimes at the most difficult times. Secondly, I want to thank my party, of which I have been a member for 20 years.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will try my very best to get through these three minutes without tears in my eyes, though I doubt that that is going to happen. <BR /> <BR />I will begin by thanking you, Mr Speaker.”
“After much discussion with officials concerning the objectives of the Bill, the detail of an SMI loan, the process of registering and removing the statutory charge and how and when an SMI loan is repaid, the Committee was content with the Bill as drafted. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the Final Stage of the Bill.”
“I welcome the Final Stage of the Bill. It is probably the shortest Bill that the Committee considered, but it is no less important, as it aims to protect owner-occupiers in receipt of an income-related benefit from the threat of repossession.”
“I know that I have caused a few headaches over the past two years, but you have always delivered week in, week out and put the needs of the Committee first and foremost. You have made my role as Committee Chair so much easier. For all that you have done, I am truly thankful.”
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“I welcome the opportunity to wind up the debate today. I thank my colleague, Carla Lockhart, for asking me to countersign the motion. I also thank Chris Lyttle and Paula Bradshaw for the amendment, which we will also support.”
“I thank the Minister for her answers so far. We all know about health inequalities, and we discuss that constantly in the Health Committee and in the Chamber. One of the biggest health inequalities is amongst our homeless community. In my area of Belfast, innovative work is being done by health and social care staff. Will the Minister look at that innovative work and maybe roll it out across our other cities in Northern Ireland? I know that some of our nursing staff in Belfast are doing great work.”
“The report revealed that 74% of practices here say that they are struggling and nearly 10% are barely coping. Action needs to be taken immediately to address the issues.”
“During the summer, we saw practices close not only in our rural communities — there are other reasons for that, as we cannot get GPs to go out as far as rural communities — but in our urban communities. Only in the summer, we saw a large practice in Bangor close as a result of having a lack of GPs. If that is allowed to continue, it will put pressure on surrounding practices and create the real threat that many people will be left without access to a GP. <BR /> <BR />The petition also calls for reduced bureaucracy and an improved IT system, because GPs want to spend as much time as possible caring and providing for their patients. <BR /> <BR />The petition comes after the release of BMA Northern Ireland's report on the crisis in primary care, which starkly illustrates the pressures on GPs.”
“<BR /> <BR />Our population is increasing, with a greater proportion of people living longer and patients with more complex and lifelong conditions. Proper investment needs to be made if general practice is to survive. At present, we do not have enough GPs to service the population in Northern Ireland. The petition calls on the Minister to increase training numbers immediately to 111. The increase from 65 to 85 training places this year is very welcome but does not go far enough to meet the demand. <BR /> <BR />A quarter of Northern Ireland GPs are over 55 and are due to retire in the very near future, with not enough coming through to replace them. Inevitably, we already see practices collapsing.”
“I welcome the opportunity to bring the petition to the House today. <BR /> <BR />General practice is one of the bedrocks of every community in Northern Ireland and the first point of contact for 90% of health and social care-related needs. However, general practice is now in crisis owing to an excessive workload, a diminishing workforce and inadequate funding. The petition being submitted today has been signed by over 30,000 patients from across Northern Ireland and calls on the Minister of Health to ensure the survival of general practice throughout Northern Ireland by investing 10% of the Northern Ireland healthcare budget in a safe, sustainable GP service for patients and funding for general practice, which is significantly reduced despite the growing demand.”
“I thank the Minister for her answers thus far, and Mr Durkan for tabling the question. I also welcome the Minister's views on a cancer strategy, which is something that I have been fighting for. I listened to the piece on the radio this morning and heard someone saying that we had been a victim of our own success. In a way that is good news, because people are becoming more aware, but that is no comfort to the people who are waiting. <BR /> <BR />From what I can see, the Belfast Trust seems to be pretty much on time with many of its appointments. Is there any way of sharing services in the trust to alleviate some of the pressures? On the back of that, I know that breast cancer is not the only area where we have severe waiting lists; urology is another one. Is she going to take steps in that area also?”
“<BR /> <BR />Finally, I want to go back to something that Mr Robinson said. He reminded us earlier of the 35 people who died in Northern Ireland in 2014 because of epilepsy. I have a neighbour who just last year lost her son to a seizure, and I know full well how that affected her family's life greatly. If we can go some way towards helping those people who are suffering from this dreadful condition, I welcome the debate today.”
“Mr Sheehan talked about a reduction in waiting lists and how what we are asking for could go some way towards looking at that. He also asked the Minister to bring forward an accurate database. Mr Butler talked about misdiagnosis, as was mentioned earlier, and the high rate of that. He said that the system does not best signpost people as to where they should go. I thank Mr Mullan for his input, for being a part of the all-party group, for going forward with that and for sharing with us the story of someone he knows and how that affects her daily life. <BR /> <BR />In closing, I thank the Minister for what has been a very positive debate. When it comes to health generally, all of us in the Chamber want what is best for the people whom we represent. I thank her for her comments and her commitment to trying to make a difference.”
“He also talked about the impact on the wider health service and said that, if we had the right support targeted in the right areas, that would bring about major savings.”
“I will take issue with something she said about the Health Committee not working together. I do not think that is the case; it is rather naive. I think we work very well together, and we do not need the Bengoa report to work well together, albeit that I would love to have it in front of us. I suspect Members think that the Bengoa report will be some panacea: I do not know that it is. We will know when we get it, but it certainly will not stop me working hard towards a better service. <BR /> <BR />I am slowly running out of time, and I cannot read my writing, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I will move on to Mr Middleton. He talked about life restrictions and a lack of support and education in the workplace.”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr Durkan said that, after reading the pack, he saw just how common this is, and he is absolutely right. He talked about the last debate we had in the Chamber, back in 2013, if I remember rightly. Mr Robinson and I brought that debate too. It was looking at, again if I can remember, children and young people and reducing the stigma of epilepsy. Other Members mentioned that we needed to reduce the stigma. <BR /> <BR />Ms Bradshaw talked about long-term conditions. She is absolutely right: this is yet another long-term condition that goes unnoticed. There are so many. We know about the big long-term conditions, like heart disease and diabetes. Those are the ones that are talked about often, but some of the other, lesser-known ones are talked about less.”
“There are many adults who have lived what we would like to describe as a relatively normal daily routine whose lives are affected by this. Mr Milne also highlighted how the information could help with the reduction of hospital admissions, and he said that the database was not without merit. <BR /> <BR />I have referred to some of the things Mrs Dobson said, and she was absolutely right when she said that services were continuing to struggle. We know that that is across the board, but this is what we are discussing today. She talked about self-care and how those around the sufferer of epilepsy are the ones who know best. They are the most stressed and are constantly having to look out for the signs and symptoms. Those people, as carers, need our support as well, and that is something we would hope to look at.”
“Mr Robinson brought up an answer from the Minister in which she said there had been no plans: I am delighted to hear that the Minister is stating now that she will ask her Department to look at this again. I think we all welcome that today. Even as I read through our packs and saw a lot of the questions to other Health Ministers over recent years, I noticed that a lot of the answers were very scant because the information was not available yet again. So it was good to hear that from the Minister. <BR /> <BR />Mr Ian Milne highlighted the fact that this concerns not just those born with epilepsy; we have a very high incidence of people who develop epilepsy, whether through stroke or brain injury. We need to remember that and remember that it affects not just children.”
“I know that Jo-Anne also talked about the lack of data and the provision of accurate information. As I said, that happens through the lack of recording. As someone who worked for the health service for a number of years, I know about recording. Sometimes it is difficult to get that accuracy, especially in admissions to hospital and treatments in hospital. People can come in with ailments that are sometimes registered as a certain ailment, not the underlying cause. That also happens. <BR /> <BR />Mr Robinson, in his opening statement, highlighted a need for a more positive future for people living with epilepsy and for ensuring value for money in the health service. That is something that all of us want to see and achieve. <BR />I turn my attention to some of the comments made in the debate.”
“I see the nurse specialist having a pivotal role in those care pathways in our Ambulance Service.”
“Unfortunately, it is my understanding that there are no specialist teams of nurses to cover all the trusts in Northern Ireland. We know that there are some, but they certainly are not across all the trusts. If we had more specialist nurses, we would see our Ambulance Service being able to refer all the people who do not need hospital admission, which is what we are looking towards. What we want to achieve is to reduce the number of people who turn up at our emergency departments.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is timely that we discuss this today, given that we are all looking towards the future of Health and Social Care and even the reconfiguration of services. In the last mandate, through various consultations, there was overwhelming advice that long-term conditions, of which epilepsy is one, should be managed in the community and in the home. What the motion asks for will go an immense way towards achieving that. <BR /> <BR />On another point, in the Health Committee we had a briefing last week from the Ambulance Service, during which it told us about the various appropriate care pathways (APCs). An ambulance is deployed to someone's home, wherever that may be, and, a lot of the time, they are able to go in, treat the patient and refer them on to an appropriate pathway that suits their needs.”
“I know that that has been said before in the Chamber, but we have not had too much overlap in what has been said here given that we had such a small amount of information to work on today. I definitely commend Members for that. <BR /> <BR />We know that the number of people with epilepsy living in Northern Ireland is around 20,000. I think that Ian Milne, the Minister and others mentioned that there were about 40 types of epilepsy and 40 types of seizure, so it comes as no great shock to us — Robbie Butler brought this up — that there is misdiagnosis. We know that that happens on a regular basis. People are unnecessarily given medicine that has severe effects on them, and others are not being diagnosed and have to live with the severity of that.”
“I start by also thanking my party colleague George Robinson for tabling the motion and asking me to countersign it. I also thank and pay tribute to the all-party group. I sat on the all-party group in the last mandate and saw at first hand just how conscientious and focused it was in trying to make a difference for people who suffer from epilepsy. The third group I want to thank is our Research and Information Service for what, I imagine, was a very challenging task in trying to find information on epilepsy services and statistics in Northern Ireland, because, as we know, those specifics are few and far between. It has been so difficult to collate the information due to the lack of a database and the notes being kept.”
“With that in mind, I again commend those who tabled the motion and the amendment, and I support the motion as amended.”
“I agree with the amendment put down by Sinn Féin, but I do not want to divide on the issue. It is such an emotive and serious issue that we should not divide on it, but a little more work and scoping is needed to get it exactly right, and I believe that those who tabled the amendment want it exactly right as well. As the Chair and as a Health Committee, we will not let the issue slip off the agenda or let the Minister drop the ball. I think that she and Committee members know that. <BR /> <BR />I am happy to support the motion as amended, with the caveat that we as a Health Committee continue to keep this in mind as one of our priorities. We know that it is one of the Minister's priorities, and I believe that it is also a priority for the Committee.”
“<BR /> <BR />More than that, we have another generation of young people who, as Ms Seeley said earlier, are suffering from poor mental health. In the last mandate, we had various witness sessions, and one that strikes my mind was in the Committee for Social Development rather than in the Health Committee. It was from a group of young people who had been made homeless, and their homelessness was a result of whatever had happened in their family life that left them with mental health problems. There is something that we need to be doing. I believe in the motion, and I think that it is excellent. I think that all of us in our party manifestos talked about wanting to see mental health champions.”
“<BR /> <BR />From my personal circumstances and those of my family and those around me, I know what it is like to hear a song on the radio, to have a smell and to hear a sound. I know what it is like to have a date imprinted in my head that I will never forget, and I know that, when I smell that smell, hear that sound or hear that little snip of a song, that can bring me back to a day that I never want to remember again. I think that we need to recognise in this country that there is a great need for help for PTSD. I thank Mr Beattie for his intervention earlier, because I am proud to say that I am the mother of a serving soldier. We are seeing a whole new generation of young men and women, coming back from theatres of war, who are in such a dreadful state and need so much help and support, yet we are failing them on those levels.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is with that in mind that I want to direct some of my attention towards the issue of PTSD. Many Members will already know that, once upon a time in a previous life, I wore a uniform and was proud to do so. I was proud to wear that cap badge on my head. I worked with so many people over those years who, not only through the Troubles but through other things that they had seen by just doing their normal daily job, ended up with severe PTSD and severe mental health issues. I remember many occasions where there were road traffic accidents or of going to a house fire where a young family had been burnt to death or of attending a sudden death. That affected so many of the men and women who I worked with, and, as a result, they suffered from PTSD.”
“I also start by commending the proposers of the debate, and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. I noted without any great surprise that one in four people in Northern Ireland is living with mental ill health, given what we have been through in Northern Ireland in the past decades. I was born in 1969 and am slightly older than you, Mr Butler, but, like you, I was a child of the Troubles and grew up during that time. We all know what effect that had on many of us and in many of our homes around this country. Indeed, as you said earlier, I do not believe that there is anyone in this House who has not been touched, either directly or indirectly, by mental ill health. We know the effect that that has on our families and on our own employment, and we know about alcoholism, homelessness and, of course, suicide.”
“I congratulate the Minister on her new role. As Chair of the Health Committee, I look forward to working with her, and I thank her for her answers so far. <BR /> <BR />It is not a popular thing to say, but we have used the independent sector in Northern Ireland health and social care for many years, and it has to play a part in bringing our waiting lists down in the short to medium term. Has there been a strategic approach to how we will use the independent sector over the coming months and years, and has the Minister had any conversations with the sector?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer and congratulate him on his new post. Is the Minister aware of the projected financial savings for Northern Ireland, with the benefit cap being reduced from £26,000 to £20,000?”
“I thank the Minister for her first statement to the House and wish her well in her new role. <BR /> <BR />I will follow on from the previous question, and I understand that, as Chair, I get a little bit of latitude, Mr Speaker. The Minister talked about the summit that was held with Professor Bengoa and the expert panel. There was consensus around the room that we wanted politics to be taken out of health and for it to move forward. He is due to report in a few weeks' time. Does the Minister have any more information on the level of detail that will be in the report? I understand that we do not currently measure review appointment waiting times — they are measured in the rest of the UK — so I do not believe that we have a full picture of waiting times. Is the Minister willing to look into that?”
“Mr Speaker, I am willing to take up office.”
“As someone who wore the uniform of the RUC for 10 years, I remember full well just how hard it was during the Troubles for my family, not only my children but my parents. I remember the times when I was under threat and all the times when it was just so difficult to live a normal life. I know that it will be discussed later, but I just wanted to put on record that I am thinking of them. I hope that we are not going back to those days again. We have a wonderful country here, we are going forward, and so many Members do not want us to go back. <BR /> <BR />Thank you for your indulgence, Mr Speaker. Thank you, Judith, and all the very best.”
“You were a strong force on that as well, so I want to say thank you for that and for being there for me when I needed you. I wish you every success in whatever endeavours you have ahead of you. <BR /> <BR />Just in passing, I also want to thank you, Mr Speaker. I know that I thanked you umpteen times last week during International Women's Week for the wonderful work that you did. However, as a Commission member, I want to thank you for being so fair and for listening to us at times when I am sure that you felt like pulling your hair out, but you were extremely fair. You have been a very fair Speaker, and it has been a pleasure to work under you as well. <BR /> <BR />In finishing, I want to pick up on Judith's first point and pass my condolences on to that family.”
“I welcome the Bill today. I know the hard work that has been put into it, and I absolutely commend you for that. <BR /> <BR />On a personal note, I will miss you greatly. You have been a great friend to me since I arrived here in 2011. We sat on the Assembly Commission together, along with the Speaker, and you have always been there to defend what you believed was right. Not a lot of people see what happens in our Commission meetings, which is probably just as well at times.”
“I have to say, Judith, that you worked extremely hard to get this through Committee under extreme time pressures and in extreme family circumstances, which we certainly understand. When you came to us, you went into full detail, listened to all the consultees and took everything on board from the PSNI, the sports clubs, the residents — to absolutely every witness who gave evidence to us in Committee. Through all of that, you always came up with a solution, where possible, and you need to be commended for that. You have worked extremely hard on the Bill, and it is most definitely required. We would, of course, have liked it to be a little broader, but, sadly, that was not to be. I will not even go into the licensing laws in Northern Ireland; I will save that for another day, hopefully when some of us are back here in May.”
“I am delighted to support Mrs Cochrane and the Licensing Bill. I have known Judith since I arrived here in 2011, and I know her to be extremely studious. She dots every i and crosses every t. When she brought her Bill forward to us in Committee, I knew that it would be absolutely no different. This is the first time that I have spoken on the Bill because, on the occasions that it was in the Chamber, my colleagues spoke because I had other things on. I am delighted to be able to speak on it at Final Stage.”
“I remember from our Committee witness sessions the communities in which a lot of the HMOs are based. I know that, in Belfast, they seem to be based within certain areas. It has caused problems within communities, so, I hope that the Bill will go some way to supporting that. <BR /> <BR />Again, I thank the Minister and the Committee, and I thank the Chair for his support during the Bill's progress and for chairing the meetings in a very fair and amicable way.”
“I agree with the Chair that it may not be perfection, but I believe that it will go some way in supporting people who live in HMOs. <BR /> <BR />I said before in the Chamber that HMOs are an important part of many of our communities. At one stage, they were very much city-focused, but, across the entirety of our country, we see more and more that HMOs are being used in many of our towns, cities and, indeed, villages. We have an ever-changing demographic in Northern Ireland. It is a good thing that we have those changing demographics, but there are people, many of whom are vulnerable, who require to live in houses of multiple occupation. It is hoped that the Bill will go some way to protecting not only the tenants and landlords but the communities.”
“I welcome the opportunity to take part in the Final Stage of the Houses in Multiple Occupation Bill. I do not intend to repeat what the Chair has so eloquently said about the Committee and our findings, and I intend to keep my comments brief, so I will just say that I agree with him on many points. I thank the Minister and the Department. The Committee raised various concerns during our deliberations on the Bill, and the Department and the Minister listened to those concerns and brought back amendments.”
“The caucus will also provide an additional driving force to support and encourage more women to enter political life. This Assembly Commission is justifiably proud of the actions it has taken to encourage women into politics.”
“<BR /> <BR />In addition to the above programmes, in February this year the Speaker established a reference group on a gender-sensitive Assembly to advise him and future Speakers on initiatives and programmes that enhance the role of women in political and public life. The reference group includes MLAs from each of the five Executive parties, as well as one representing the smaller parties and independent Members. <BR /> <BR />Most recently, the Assembly women's caucus was established and launched last week. That is a huge step forward in demonstrating our commitment to supporting women who enter politics. The members of the caucus will work together, irrespective of political party affiliation, to ensure that the political culture of the Assembly is more reflective of the gender balance in our wider society.”
“A young female leaders academy was launched in October 2015. Its purpose is to create awareness of the added value that women bring to the public and political sphere. Through this initiative, the young women will learn about the opportunities that are available to them, particularly in political life, through shaping policy and instigating positive change. The Speaker is also responsible for leading Assembly Women’s Week. Assembly Women’s Week was an initiative brought forward by the Speaker to not only mark International Women’s Day 2016 but to end the mandate of the Assembly with a positive focus on improving female representation in the Assembly and public life generally.”
“It is anticipated that a second cohort of that programme will be commissioned in 2016-17.”
“I thank the Member for his question. We got to the end of Question Time and got them all in. Mr Deputy Speaker, could I have an additional minute to answer the question? <BR /> <BR />It is an obvious fact that women are under-represented in political and public life. The evidence is there. We have too few female MLAs and woefully too few women on boards of public bodies while we have men who sit on multiple boards. <BR /> <BR />Returning to the question, in 2015, the Assembly Commission, through Politics Plus, established a Women in Politics programme. The programme was aimed at female elected representatives in order to provide support for the development of their political careers, and, particularly, it was to encourage female councillors to put themselves forward for elections and to build links between local and central government.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary question. In line with the policy, only events organised at Parliament Buildings or within the Stormont estate that are DFP-approved will have access to the lighting system. Only charitable, community or non-profit organisations based in or having a significant connection to Northern Ireland, and celebrating a significant anniversary — for example, first, fifth, tenth, twenty-fifth etc — or an occasion, may be permitted to have Parliament Buildings illuminated in their special colour.”
“To date, no additional requests have been granted in relation to the other eight days scheduled for events in support of charitable, community and non-profit organisations during the calendar year. Such requests will be considered by the Commission as and when they are received.”
“I thank the Member for his question. At its meeting on 11 November 2014, the Assembly Commission agreed the policy for the external lighting of Parliament Buildings in order to manage the use of the system while preserving the dignity of Parliament Buildings. <BR /> <BR />In line with the policy, the Commission scheduled up to four days during the calendar year for events of its choice. In 2016, the four days chosen were Monday 8 March, International Women's Day, when it is lit up purple; Thursday 17 March, St Patrick's Day, when it will be lit up green; Tuesday 12 July, when it will be lit up orange; and Friday 11 November, Remembrance Day, when it will be lit up red. <BR /> <BR />The Assembly charity of the year for 2016, Positive Futures, is allowed five days during its 12-month term.”
“I thank the Member for his question, which is a very good question. It is one that I am unable to answer as a Commission member, but I can answer it from a personal level. A year ago, I had a visitor in the Building who was paralysed from the neck down and required changing facilities. I was not a Commission member at the time, and I was unaware that we had the changing places room. I had offered my office for his carer to assist in his needs. So, I think you are absolutely right: we need to advertise more that we have those facilities available here.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Again, as part of the overall restructuring and looking at disabled access to the Building, extra parking spaces have been provided at the east and west doors, although I do understand that there is a long way to walk within the Building. I do not know how we can overcome that. I do not know whether we can get parking. We cannot get it at the front door, albeit if we could, we would. We may have to look at the back door and the slope as a possibility, or maybe some of the new parking bays at the back are disabled parking bays. It is something that we will continually look at. It is an issue that is fed to members of the Commission by members of our parties, and it is something that will be kept on the agenda, because it certainly has been a difficult building to access over the years.”
“I thank the Member for his question. From memory of having to use it once, I know that we have a first-aid room in the Building; it is on the second floor. You will notice around the Building, signs to do with the first-aiders, who are trained in first aid, who are available in the Building. Again, from memory, I believe that we have at least five defibrillators in the Building. They are stationed on most floors, and people are trained to use them.”
“On behalf of the Commission, I thank him for all of his help.”