5 March 2025 

SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath has said that every part of the North should benefit from multidisciplinary care teams (MDTs).

It comes after Finance Minister John O’Dowd announced £61m in funding for MDTs in five new GP Federation areas.

MDTs work in primary care settings with the intention of taking pressure away from GPs and hospitals.

South Down MLA Mr McGrath said:

“Having seen first-hand the success of MDTs piloted in Down and Derry the SDLP has repeatedly pressed the Health Minister for a timescale for the full rollout of MDTs across the North. News around funding for a further five areas is welcome, but that still leaves a significant amount of areas without MDTs in place. People in those areas will be rightly asking why they are not getting the same care as everyone else.

“MDTs are a game changer in terms of general practice service provision and help reduce health inequalities. Partial implementation only deepens the gulf of inequality, and I had hoped to hear news that they would be fully funded. Regrettably that was not the case.

“What we heard from the Minister was that the seven areas that have MDTs being rolled out would be completed and the service would be expanded into five other areas. This means that we have five areas left (Mid-Ulster, Lisburn, East Belfast, South Belfast and Antrim Ballymena) in which there remains no access to MDTs.

“The Minister’s announcement will come as little comfort to the more than half a million people across these areas who continue to have no access to an MDT, and have been left behind, once again, by this Executive.”