Mike Nesbitt
Strangford · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Think public service, wisdom, generosity and courtesy. Think integrity, insight and curiosity, the lack of which is a key criticism of the two public inquiry reports of recent days.”
“I spoke during Members' statements earlier about the untimely passing of the Western Trust's chair, Dr Tom Frawley CBE. I repeat my condolences to his family, his friends and his many admirers.”
“I absolutely share the Member's ambition to see people living in the community. The trusts provide a range of evidence-informed programmes for individuals who are awaiting assessment. For children and young people, early intervention teams deliver proactive needs-led programmes that are neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Western Trust has assured me that it has undertaken a comprehensive early engagement exercise with stakeholders, involving all political parties, local businesses, service users, community groups, the Patient and Client Council (PCC), local media, community planning partners and Departments, including mine and D…”
“The role played by social workers in delivering safeguarding and family support interventions is complex and challenging. The work frequently pivots on multidisciplinary collaboration, with parents and carers positioned as partners in the formulation and delivery of safeguarding and support plans.”
“I fully recognise the impact of the current delays on individuals and families. The situation has arisen due to a combination of factors, including funding that falls short of objectively assessed need and previously missed opportunities to reform health and social care delivery.”
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“It will also require a societal shift to ensure that advanced care planning becomes a routine part of healthcare, with discussions becoming the norm rather than something that is often put off until later. There is common agreement that advanced care planning is the right thing to do, primarily for the individual but also for the wider system. I am confident that progressing implementation in that way represents the best chance of success. <BR /> <BR />The Committee's recommendations reflect the breadth of its ambitions for palliative care in the immediate and longer term. I assure Members of my commitment and desire to ensure that quality palliative care services are available and accessible to people wherever they live in this country.”
“<BR /> <BR />As further evidence of my commitment in the area, the policy has been included as one of the work streams for consideration under the HSC "Big Discussion" winter preparedness programme. It involves consideration of the short-term benefits that may impact winter pressures this year and the longer-term benefits from a system-wide roll-out. Those are important early steps and have helped build momentum. <BR /> <BR />It is equally important that the wider implementation of advanced care planning is done in a coherent and managed way. That will require collaborative engagement across the system that involves multi-professional teams in all care settings for a sustained period.”
“I anticipate that that work will conclude within the current financial year. <BR /> <BR />The Committee has also highlighted the need to implement the advanced care planning policy as a matter of urgency. I assure the Chamber that implementation of that policy remains a strategic priority. The associated benefits are evident and understood across the HSC system. Importantly, that includes the adoption of the recommended summary plan for emergency care and treatment (ReSPECT), which will enable a standardised approach to recording all recommendations about a person's care and treatment, including "Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation" (DNACPR) orders.”
“I am also aware of the funding challenges that hospices face, so I acknowledge the Committee's desire to see changes in funding. My Department has undertaken work to ensure that current adult hospice funding is in line with existing commissioning arrangements to secure that 50:50 funding for hospice inpatient beds and commissioned community specialist palliative services for 2025-26. I acknowledge that the Committee's report states that that is not good enough. <BR /> <BR />My Department has also engaged with the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice to understand the costs incurred in delivering procured services and to benchmark against similar services. I want to ensure that we get value for money and that the funding received is in line with the level of service provided.”
“I thank the Member for the intervention. He understands that I do not make policy on the hoof in the Chamber, but that is certainly something that I will take away and consider. The Member will know that there are many moving parts. The "invest to save" rationale could be applied across the Health and Social Care system, but it is about finding that initial investment. The transformation fund could, perhaps, be a source in the area that he identified. <BR /> <BR />Since I have taken up post, I have visited hospices and met representatives, service users and families. I fully recognise the role that hospices play in supporting people who are living with life-limiting conditions and the difference that they make to the quality of life not just for the patients but for the families and carers.”
“That builds on the successful pathfinder in Foyle Hospice that has had a positive impact in allowing patients' families and friends to be where they are needed most: with their loved ones. It has also afforded the additional benefit of reducing pressure on the healthcare system. <BR /> <BR />I note that the Committee has called for increased funding for hospices, recommending that, over the next five years, my Department move to 100% funding for all hospice services, with the introduction of 50% funding for actual costs from 2026-27. That is a big challenge, but we all asked to be elected in order to overcome challenges, so let us face those challenges and not let them become insurmountable obstacles to progress.”
“That will support pharmacy teams to build on existing palliative care provision and improve the care that is already provided to patients and their families. <BR /> <BR />One of the best ways to prevent patients from needing to seek urgent access to medicines out of hours, in the evenings or at weekends is to further develop access to anticipatory prescribing so that patients have medicines at home when they need them. "Just in case" boxes have already improved access to anticipatory medicines in some areas. I am keen to see the learning from that pilot applied across the whole region. <BR /> <BR />My Department is also actively progressing the scale-up of other areas of best practice, such as the roll-out of urgent community prescribing pathways for patients receiving care in the community from hospice providers.”
“<BR /> <BR />An example of palliative care support that is currently provided in the community is the community pharmacy palliative care service model. Under that model, a network of 60 pharmacies builds on the support offered by all pharmacies, providing advice and access to supplies from a regionally agreed list of specialist medicines that aims to ensure that the needs of vulnerable patients are met at the end of life. My Department's winter preparedness plan outlines how work is already under way to review and consolidate the model. My Department has worked in partnership with Community Pharmacy NI and the Pharmacy Forum NI to encourage community pharmacies to sign up to the Marie Curie Daffodil Standards for end-of-life care and to do so ahead of this winter.”
“Building a neighbourhood model will require providers from across Health and Social Care to work in new ways to deliver services to people. That will be an important cultural change, as well as a planning and commissioning challenge. Palliative and end-of-life care providers will play a key role in developing the new model; indeed, there was a lot of interest and engagement from the hospice sector at our recent stakeholder event with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors. A central principle of the neighbourhood model will be providing better care to people in their homes and communities, thereby reducing attendance at hospitals and emergency departments. It is important that people who have palliative care needs do not inappropriately have to attend an ED when their care is better supported at home or in the community.”
“<BR /> <BR />Access to services closer to home is very much in line with the vision that I set out in my recently published reset plan. That included a commitment to develop a model for primary, community and social care that will deliver greater levels of care for citizens in their communities, alongside a funding plan to support delivery, starting in April 2026. The model will see a range of stakeholders working closely together in formal partnership to provide integrated care. I hope that it will facilitate a preventative approach to healthcare and help manage demand more effectively. <BR /> <BR />Officials have commenced work to develop the new neighbourhood model, which is an important enabler for the commitment to shifting left.”
“Work is under way. The task and finish group is leading on the scoping of existing services, staffing and contracting of all providers. That will be part of a review at a workshop planned for next month. <BR /> <BR />The Committee has stressed the importance of access to community-based palliative care services, including out-of-hours, and ensuring that services are rural-proofed. Those are all important issues. In September, as part of Palliative Care Week, I spoke at a Hospice UK event on the particular challenges of accessing care services in rural areas. Having access to those services is important for everybody. It is right, therefore, that people with palliative care needs who live in our rural communities should be able to expect to receive the care and support that they need.”
“I thank the Member for her point. Obviously, we are just very recently in receipt of an advance copy of the report. We will now see where there is an overlap so that we do not duplicate. The Member's point is acknowledged. <BR /> <BR />I also acknowledge the concern expressed by the Committee about the pace of progress. I assure Members that that does not reflect a lack of focus or prioritisation on the part of my Department. This is a significant and complex project that involves working across our system. The outcomes will provide the robust evidence that we need to plan for, commission and deliver adult palliative care and end-of-life services into the future. To that end, good preparation is essential, and my officials have been taking time to engage with stakeholders. I want to ensure that we get the foundations right.”
“That is why, at my request, my Department is undertaking a baseline scoping exercise to consider existing services across the region and whether they meet the palliative and end-of-life care needs of the populations that they serve and those that they will need to be prepared to serve in the future. That extensive programme of work will include a population-based palliative and end-of-life care needs assessment, as well as engagement with service users and those important to them. I want to understand the experience and quality of palliative and end-of-life care. Our ultimate goal is that the outcomes of the exercise will better inform the future planning and commissioning of palliative and end-of-life care services and will have direct benefits for people with palliative care needs and those who are important to them.”
“Through a collaborative ethos in bringing together stakeholders, including service users, carers and Voices4Care, which the Chair mentioned, the partnership has been at the forefront of shaping holistic and person-centred palliative care services for adults at regional and local level. <BR /> <BR />While we have undoubtedly seen progress, we cannot escape the fact that, as we look to the future, we need to ensure that we have in place the policies, the practice and the workforce that will allow us to respond to the projected growth in need. To do that, we have to have a fuller understanding of the palliative care landscape and the evidence base that will allow us to plan for where we need to be in the years to come.”
“However, I recognise that she was called away for an unavoidable reason, so I will not take the hand on that any further. <BR /> <BR />It was acknowledged in the debate that access to quality palliative and end-of-life care when it is needed is something that we all wish for those who are important to us and, indeed, for ourselves. Over recent years, we have seen significant improvement in palliative and end-of-life care. We have a partnership programme that is co-led by my Department's strategic planning and performance group (SPPG) and the Public Health Agency (PHA).”
“My Department and I will wish to consider the report fully, and we will, of course, respond in detail to the Committee in the new year. In the meantime, I want to outline some of the work that is already under way, which, I hope, will fulfil some of the report's recommendations, including the ongoing scoping exercise. It is important to note, though, that some of the recommendations call for significant additional investment in palliative and end-of-life care services. Some are not costed, and that is fair enough, because the Committee does not have a full Department and its resources behind it. If I am being a bit cheeky but honest, however, I had a bit of a Victor Meldrew moment when I realised that Diane Dodds had signed up to uncosted recommendations.”
“<BR /> <BR />I also express gratitude for the dedication of our palliative care workforce, who demonstrate professionalism and compassion: professionalism based on their training and experience and compassion based on their empathy and humanity.”
“Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker. I will begin, as I must, by congratulating the Committee on its very detailed piece of work. I also congratulate it on the speed at which it got a debate in the Chamber. The debate was opened, I think, before the report was officially launched: that could be a first. Genuinely, I thank the members of the Committee for undertaking the inquiry. <BR /> <BR />I am particularly aware of the personal insights that were provided by people with lived experience, and I am pleased to see them reflected throughout the report. The impact of those personal stories and experiences has been acknowledged by the Chair, and that chimes with my view that all healthcare is personal; in fact, it is as personal as life gets.”
“If the House is willing to set aside the political rhetoric, we can work together to deliver the improvements that our citizens require and deserve.”
“<BR /> <BR />Members of the Health Committee are free not only to advise me on how to prioritise the delivery of the strategy but to assist me in understanding how to do it without disadvantaging other areas of health and social care. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I want to be clear: mental health will remain a priority, not because a motion instructs it but because it is the right thing to do. I will continue to drive reform and support the implementation of Right Care, Right Person in a safe and responsible manner, beginning with concern for welfare calls, following the walkouts and missing from healthcare facilities, the transportation of patients with mental health needs, and under article 130 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, those cases and voluntary mental health patients.”
“However, I will continue to make every endeavour to reduce that figure further, through efficiencies and savings right across health and social care, but our assessment is clear: without further support, which is not currently expected, we will not be able to break even. Mental health services, in particular, have faced historic underinvestment over decades. The strategy identified an additional funding requirement of over £1·2 billion over the 10 years to effect the transformation needed. To date, only a fraction of that has been invested, and that resource has had to be found from within our existing budgets.”
“The plan was to deliver some £300 million internally — an unprecedented amount — while seeking Executive support for the remaining £300 million, with a hope that it would secure the financial wherewithal to balance our budget and stabilise. To date, Health has received £25 million from June monitoring. It has identified saving plans of £300 million, but, despite that, it is unable to fully eliminate the overspend. <BR /> <BR />While the Executive have approved my ministerial direction on HSC pay awards this year and agreed that Health will have the first call of up to £100 million in December monitoring, it will still leave a significant gap.”
“I thank the Member for her intervention. Deputy Speaker, I do not wish to admonish the audiovisual team, but every time that the Member stands up, the microphone to her left comes on, but she faces right. I am sorry, but I find it very hard to hear. Maybe next time, the audiovisual team will switch on the microphone to the right. <BR /> <BR />In July, I published a health and social care reset plan, which aims to address the funding that between establishing a neighbourhood-centred care system, driving significant efficiencies and focusing on the key themes of stabilisation, reform and delivery. To support stabilisation, my permanent secretary has established a systems financial management group, which is driving a series of efficiencies and savings and reducing the deficit as far as possible.”
“There is clear evidence in the HSC of further expected growth in demand in acute and community services associated with an ageing population and year-on-year increases in demand for mental health, learning disability and children's services. The 2025-26 Health budget was not sufficient to cover the significant increases in costs that we faced as a result of pay and price inflation, increased National Insurance contributions for GPs, pharmacists and social care providers, rising demand and the ring-fencing of waiting list funding, which left a significant shortfall of £615 million.”
“The Health budget was 50·5% of the 2025-26 Northern Ireland block, but that, in fact, represents a small reduction in Health's relative share of the block grant from previous years. The level of additional spending on health over that in England is now projected to be at a 10-year low in 2025-26, well below the 4% to 7% that, the Fiscal Council reported, may be necessary to meet the additional health need in Northern Ireland. That includes maintaining services, meeting demographic growth and increasing clinical standards. While England is ramping up the capital investment in the NHS to stimulate productivity, our investment in that area is also lagging well behind.”
“Work is well advanced to develop and agree memoranda of understanding between agencies that set out clear roles and responsibilities for each agency in responding to emergency calls for assistance. <BR /> <BR />I am grateful to HSC colleagues for rising to the challenge, and, again, I reject the accusation of failure. It is vital that we monitor the impact on HSC services when we begin to implement RCRP. We will do that on a phased basis, beginning with the response to calls relating to concern for welfare. I also appreciate that the PSNI has been working in partnership with us to agree a date to begin implementation of the policy based on the assessment of readiness. <BR /> <BR />The motion also refers to the Department receiving more than half of the Executive's resource budget.”
“There is the silver operational group co-chaired by the Department of Health and the PSNI. There have been no fewer than 10 subgroups established, which report to the Right Care, Right Person silver operational group. Each subgroup has been tasked with considering the implications of and preparing for the introduction of RCRP. The subgroups include inter-agency working, the issues associated with walkout and missing from healthcare, restraint, acute care pressures, issues relating to places of safety, approved social workers, how medical assessments are carried out, evaluations and outcomes, Mental Capacity Act considerations and, importantly, training.”
“They go back and forth in search of the best deliverable agreed outcomes, but do the Members who tabled the motion know that? Comments have been made suggesting that my Department is in some way at fault or that nothing is being done. Furthermore, for clarity — this is an important point on the partnership agreement — will the Justice Minister sign it? Will the Justice Minister sign that partnership agreement? <BR /> <BR />Again, I say for clarity that we have established appropriate governance structures, with key stakeholders from across the relevant organisations, in order to ensure a coordinated approach to future implementation. That includes the establishment of a Right Care, Right Person strategic group that is co-chaired by the Department of Health and the Department of Justice.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, it was not 22 August just gone; it was 22 August 2024. Within 10 or 11 weeks of taking up post, I was trying to implement the Right Care, Right Person model. In the meeting, I articulated but one concern: we should not move so quickly that we create a hiatus where the PSNI withdraws before HSC is ready to fill the void. Assistant Chief Constable Henderson agreed with me. <BR /> <BR />Where are we now? First, we need a regional partnership agreement. The status of that is as follows. We have submitted our thoughts, suggestions and preferences to the PSNI, so the ball is in its court. In fairness, I expect the police to take whatever time they need to respond to our suggestions. Members will know that these matters tend to be iterative.”
“That said, I asked whether it would make more sense to fund the training of police officers to be those first responders, but that argument has been lost. When I took up my current role, not only was I aware of Right Care, Right Person; I wanted my officials to explore the possibilities as a matter of urgency. I will touch on the timeline, because some Members have given the impression that the approach has been in development for many years. As I said, I heard about it first when Jon Boutcher became Chief Constable in late October 2023, which is around two years ago. When I took up post at the end of May last year, I jointly chaired an initial meeting between my officials and Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson, who is the lead officer on Right Care, Right Person for the PSNI. That meeting was held on 22 August.”
“The motion calls for the prioritisation of the mental health strategy, but it does not explain how I should go about doing that. Under section 29(1)(a)(ii) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, members of the Health Committee have a statutory obligation to "advise and assist" me when they call for the prioritisation of a specific health service. Is saying, "Prioritise mental health", without advising how to do it without damaging other services and service users, really advising and assisting? <BR /> <BR />I will now focus on Right Care, Right Person. I was a member of the Policing Board when the current Chief Constable first mentioned it. I supported the intention. I accepted the Chief Constable's contention that his officers were not trained to respond.”
“It is not helpful to isolate the mental health response in such a way as people may consider it as an outlier: it is not. We then get to the old trope: Health gets over half the Executive Budget. The motion refers to half the "entire" Budget. Is there a difference between half the Budget and half the "entire" Budget? There may be. The former is clearly a statement of fact; the latter may read like a party political statement. What happened to objective assessed need? Two Members who signed the motion are members of the Health Committee. Do they not care about the objective assessed needs of our people? I accept that Health needs to rationalise, stabilise, reform and deliver but not because of some random percentage; rather, because it is the right thing to do. It is the right thing to deliver better outcomes.”
“I like to think that, today, everybody is on board. <BR /> <BR />The motion is interesting. The first sentence expresses "grave concern" at "failings" in the system. Members should be well aware that, in my opinion, the HSC system is the workforce; the wonderful 70,000-odd people who deliver health and social care to a truly high standard daily. I make no apology for refusing to join the Alliance Party in claiming that the health service is broken. I saw a social media video to that effect yesterday. Pathways may be badly damaged, but, when you receive care, you get first-class treatment. <BR /> <BR />The motion states that only 3% of the mental health calls that the police respond to are linked to crime. I do not dispute that, but the motion does not acknowledge the fact that the majority of all PSNI responses are not linked to crime.”
“Thank you, Deputy Speaker. There is only one place where I feel comfortable beginning, which is by acknowledging as critical — I repeat: "critical" — the issue of the right person with the right skills responding to somebody in mental health crisis. When I say "critical", I mean "potentially life-saving". I hope that no Member has any doubt that I have a focus on the issue. In fact, when it comes to mental health, others in the House have acknowledged for some time that I was the first MLA to bring a focus to the issue of mental health, long before it was a popular talking point. I will not embarrass people by naming those who derided me and scoffed at me for trying to make it an issue all those years ago. Those names include not only political commentators; I am sorry to say that they also include elected representatives.”
“It is a common theme that, once they get into the health and social care system, people say that they receive first-class treatment, so please do not say that the system is broken. What is badly damaged, however, are the pathways by which people access that world-class treatment. Addressing that issue will remain a focus of mine until I am no longer the Minister of Health.”
“As a general rule, I ask officials to shorten every pathway to diagnosis and treatment. <BR /> <BR />I pay tribute to Mr McCormick, who is on my social media daily. He is welcome to use my social media to raise awareness. I am very sorry that he lost his wife.”
“That falls to the Public Health Agency (PHA). I assure the Member that it is particularly aware of the issue and the fact that there is a false belief among many that a test for cervical cancer will reveal ovarian cancer: it will not. The one thing that the PHA is not doing is paid-for advertising, which is a reflection of the tightness of the Department of Health's budget.”
“That is very much part of the frustration that I have discussed with them in some detail.”
“I certainly agree with the first half: I have met some of the mothers on a not infrequent basis — certainly more than once — and I get it. I also get their frustration that, although there is money available for short breaks, it is in our resource budget and cannot be used for capital. Quite rightly, they do not understand that, because they are mums who are running households. They have money, and they make choices with that money. They may decide that they are not going to spend so much on food in a particular week because they need the money for their children's clothing or school uniforms. They do not have the solid walls between their budgets for food, electricity, heating, clothing and transport that we tend to have between capital and resource.”
“The Member can keep me right on this, but, as I understand it, the issue at Redwood was with a staircase. I am not aware of whether the works there have been completed. <BR /> <BR />To make a general point, I am sure that the Member is aware that the use of such institutions and buildings is really fragile. If one young person with severe learning difficulties appears unexpectedly and in a way that is, from our point of view, unplanned, it can have a profound effect on our ability to provide residential and short-break care across the piece.”
“I understand why the Member wants a date, but I cannot give him one, because such things depend on a huge number of factors. When I say that they depend on the workforce, it is not about productivity; it is about the workforce staying healthy and, perhaps, going off on maternity leave. There are, therefore, factors that are beyond the control of the Department or any of the five geographically defined health and social care trusts. Let me assure the Member, however, that there is no lack of effort from the workforce, no lack of focus from the trusts and no lack of determination from the Minister.”
“I am talking to experts in that field, and they are coming up with really interesting and solid ideas.”
“The short answer to that is yes. It is a matter of huge regret to me that this is happening, because it obviously impacts on outcomes for patients. When I first stood in the House as Minister, I said that cancer, along with mental health and a couple of other issues, would be my main areas of focus during my time as Minister. <BR /> <BR />The Member will know that we have moved to a regional booking slot for assessments that introduces a regional standardised service. It is far too slow. That point is made forcefully by Members of the House, and I accept it. However, we are bringing down waiting times, and we will continue to do so. <BR /> <BR />The next phase is about diagnosis and treatment and trying to get a lot closer to the 62-day target.”
“I made the decision to offer the real living wage from 1 September some months ago. It was on foot of discussions with officials. It is so long ago that Peter May was permanent secretary; it was a while ago. I wanted to do it, and I was told at the time that it was possible. At that time, I think, we were projecting pay awards of 2·8%: they turned out to be 3·6% and 4%, and that played into the unaffordability of going for the real living wage from 1 September. <BR /> <BR />At the time that I committed to the real living wage, I was unaware of what percentage, if any, of social care staff were being paid the real living wage by their employers.”
“I have said that I am no longer able to fulfil my commitment to provide a real living wage from 1 September last. I remain committed to providing it as soon as possible. There is no point in me saying, "Here is a new date", because who would believe it when the last date was broken? <BR /> <BR />I have had several briefings and have heard Ms Shepherd from the Independent Health and Care Providers contest what I told the Committee last week. Therefore, I have asked for a solid report on that. I have also invited Pauline Shepherd to discuss it with me, and that meeting will happen on Wednesday.”
“<BR /> <BR />I share the Member's concern about next year's budget, but we do not yet know where we will end up this year, we do not yet know what next year's budget will be and we do not yet know how quickly we will be able to roll out the neighbourhood model. I hope that everybody is on the starting line for 1 April. For some processes, it will be a 100-metre sprint, but others will be doing a 5K or a 10K. Who knows? Some might even be doing the marathon to get there.”
“It will be perilous if we do not reform, but the permanent secretary and I are determined to finally begin that long-awaited, almost fabled shift left. We are now engaging with stakeholders. Earlier today, I met the Eastern GP Federation Support Unit, which, as you know, is a group that oversees a large number of GP practices. That is the third such meeting that I have had. There is an appetite there to go to that neighbourhood model, and, if you go to the neighbourhood model, you will put a focus on prevention to keep people healthy and early intervention when they start to get sick. If you can do that effectively, the number of high-cost procedures being carried out in our acute hospitals should start to come down, and, as they come down, that will release money and start a flow.”
“We will continue to try to find savings until 31 March, but it is reasonable to assume that, when we get to 31 March, we will not have balanced our budget. That is a serious thing. I never wanted to stand here as a Minister and preside over a budget that is broken. However, it is better that we pay the doctors, nurses and the allied health professionals in our workforce, and that is what we are doing.”
“I understand the Member's question, but, first of all, we do not know what is in the Budget. We will find out on Wednesday, and we will then move rapidly, led by the Minister of Finance, to assess the implications of the Budget for the Northern Ireland Executive. <BR /> <BR />The Member asked about pay pressures and next year's budget. To be clear, I have not asked the Executive to overspend and dip into next year's Budget; I have asked them to endorse the ministerial direction that I gave some months ago to pay the health workforce. That is happening, but it creates a pressure of, I believe, £208·7 million — let us call it £209 million. I am being promised up to £100 million from December monitoring — "up to". That leaves potentially at least £109 million to be found. We have not finished trying to find savings this year.”
“I can say to the Member that this issue is relatively fresh to me and of real concern, because, if the equipment is not there, we have a serious issue. From 2021-22 until the current year, more than £40 million of capital funding was prioritised for the replacement of imaging and diagnostics equipment and related enabling works across the whole HSC sector. Additional projects identified by the capital subgroup of the regional medical imaging board have been bid for as part of the Budget 2026 process, and that includes the MRI scanner for the Downe Hospital.”