22 October 2026

SDLP South Down MLA Colin McGrath has slammed the Executive's failure to agree a Budget, warning that patients are paying the price for political paralysis as emergency department waiting times continue to deteriorate.

Commenting on the latest Department of Health statistics, Mr McGrath said: 

“Behind every statistic is a person. Someone frightened, someone in pain, someone waiting desperately for the care they need.

“In September alone, over 13,000 people spent more than 12 hours in emergency departments. Almost 5,800 attendances ended before treatment was complete. These are shocking figures that should shame every member of the Executive.

“At the Ulster Hospital, just 14.2% of patients were admitted or discharged within four hours, while more than 2,500 waited over 12 hours.

“Our doctors and nurses are working tirelessly, but they cannot deliver the health service people deserve without the resources and long-term planning required to make it work.

“And that is why the Executive's failure to agree a Budget is an absolute disgrace.

“How can we expect our health service to plan for winter pressures, recruit staff, expand capacity or transform services when the Executive cannot even agree how public money should be allocated?

“We hear endless promises about transforming healthcare, but transformation requires investment, and investment requires a Budget.

“People in South Down deserve to see facilities like the Downe Hospital properly utilised, alongside investment in hospital beds, community care and services that relieve pressure on emergency departments.

“The Executive cannot continue to drift from one crisis to another while patients wait in corridors and exhausted staff hold the system together.

“Every day without an agreed Budget is another day of uncertainty for our health service. Patients cannot afford that uncertainty, and the Executive has no excuse for allowing it to continue.”