Health minister orders pause to Phone First service cuts
Northern Ireland's health minister has instructed trusts to pause planned cuts to the Phone First telephone triage service effective immediately.
Minister halts service reductions across region
The Department of Health stated that trusts not yet standing down the scheme must liaise with external providers for an extension. The Belfast Trust has already scrapped the telephone triage system and planned to end it within weeks in the Northern Trust. The Western Trust currently holds the service under review while officials assess the financial impact on their budgets.
Financial pressures drive difficult savings plans
Northern Trust interim chief executive Suzanne Pullins announced the pause after appearing before Stormont's Health Committee to answer questions about savings. The trust was asked to find £53.8m in savings for this year while the service costs £500,000 to run annually. Pullins described the decision as having no easy choices given the scale of required financial reductions from the health budget.
Staff redeployed to urgent care roles
The Department of Health confirmed that Belfast Trust staff have been redeployed to urgent care services to secure access to emergency care. Every trust continues to back emergency departments in order to guarantee the best patient movement and timely access to appropriate care. Committee members previously expressed concern that cutting the line occurred just as hospitals prepared to deal with increased winter pressures.
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