11 November 2025
SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA has said the health service is still sleepwalking into a disaster this winter, despite the long-overdue pay award for staff.
Speaking following an SDLP Opposition Day motion on winter preparedness, McGrath said that while the agreement to restore pay parity provides long-awaited certainty for workers, the episode has exposed deep dysfunction within the Executive.
He said the same lack of coordination has undermined efforts to prepare for the difficult months ahead, with the Department of Health's Winter Preparedness Plan published amid confusion, delay and widespread criticism.
Colin McGrath MLA said:
"Health and social care staff have finally secured the pay settlement they were promised, restoring long-overdue parity with colleagues across these islands. That certainty will come as a huge relief to workers and patients alike, and it rightly avoids the prospect of strike action during the most pressurised time of year.
"But let's be clear, it should never have taken this long. If the Executive could find the money now, it could have been found months ago. Instead, staff were left in limbo through months of confusion, mixed messaging and public infighting between Ministers. That's no way to run our health service.
"The Winter Preparedness Plan was published against a backdrop of dysfunction and dispute, and it still falls far short of what's needed to deal with record waiting lists, emergency department overcrowding and chronic workforce shortages.
"This entire episode has further exposed the dysfunction at the heart of this Executive. Instead of scrambling to fix problems at the last minute, Ministers should be working year-round to build resilience in our health service.
"The SDLP will continue to stand with health and social care staff. This cannot become an annual cycle of crisis management. We need long-term workforce planning, fair funding and genuine Executive coordination to deliver the change our health service so desperately needs."