Carál Ní Chuilín MLA Motion 161
Published: 1 March, 2008
Carál Ní Chuilín MLA represents North Belfast. She is the party's Assembly Health Spokesperson and Chief Whip.
I would like to support the motion 161 and the other Health motions.
Poverty is a key factor in ill-health. Poor people get sicker and die earlier that those who are better off in society. In spite of this, health policies, still place a major focus on treating disease and far less on the social factors that cause ill-health.
Bairbre De Brun's Investing for Health goals need to be matched by a renewed commitment on the part of the Executive to seriously tackle the social determinants of ill-health. Historical neglect of our Health and Social care services have been manifested in the regional disparity of services in West of the Bann and between parts of Belfast, as examples.
The key to improving health outcomes and taking pressure of the Health Service is to ensure the effective implementation of the Investing for Health Strategy.
Sinn Féin has put the language of Equality into the PFG, ISNI2 and the Budget and this means that we will tackle;
• Eradicating a two-tier system for health
• Making sure that patients come first, in waiting lists, Hospital Acquired Infections, such as MRSA and C Diff, equality of treatment
• Making sure that our frontline staff are supported through fair pay and working conditions
• Making sure that we have enough child and adolescent services across this Island
• We need to have a proper and robust Suicide Prevention Strategy
• We need to ensure that Mental Health is no longer treated as the Cinderella service in Health provision.
• We need to ensure that we have proper Cancer Services that are accessible and support the Campaign Cancer services for Derry and Donegal
Ill-Health does not recognise partition or boarders and we need to ensure that we have joined up approaches to the provision of Health and Social care provision for every one.
We need to ensure that the North/South Ministerial Council works for people and that Healthcare is prioritised.
We need to use our political power to deliver for people and ensure that services are provided and can be accessed in an equal and equitable way.
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