16 November 2025
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA has said Minister Mike Nesbitt must heed the vote from GPs to explore alternatives to the NHS.
The vote took place as a motion at the Northern Ireland Local Medical Committees (NILMC) Conference at the weekend.
South Down MLA Colin McGrath said:
“Nobody – including our GPs – is seriously suggested that they should leave the NHS en masse, but what this vote does tell us is how despondent many GPs feel at the current situation within our health service. The Health Minister would be foolish to ignore this warning and as the frontline of our health service the voice of GPs should be heard.
“I don’t believe the approach taken at this Conference is the right one and I would ask GPs to reassure the public that there will be no imminent changes to care. However, the Health Minister needs to learn to work with GPs who are rightly annoyed at the imposition of a contract at a time when they are finding it harder and harder to deliver the services the public needs.
“The Health Minister needs to get back around the table with GPs and their representatives and work out a funding model and plan that delivers the access the public needs. There is serious work to do to reform the health service and address the many challenges, but we won’t get anywhere without GPs on board.”