Mike Nesbitt resigns as health minister amid row with UUP leader
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Mike Nesbitt has resigned as health minister amid a row with the UUP leader Jon Burrows
The decision comes following a clash over withdrawing emergency general surgery services from Causeway Hospital
Nesbitt served twice as leader of the party, first from 2012 until 2017 and again from 2024 until earlier this year when Burrows took over
Burrows thanked him for his service, saying he “took on arguably the hardest job in government”
The UUP leader said he plans to discuss the health brief with party colleagues and will confirm a nomination soon
Nesbitt said his time as health minster was “the greatest privilege of his political career”
Another ex-leader Doug Beattie quit the UUP in May, lashing out at Burrows’ leadership
It is unclear whether Nesbitt will follow suit and quit the party as well as resigning his ministry
Causeway Hospital clash
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Last week Burrows, who is a North Antrim MLA, told a town hall meeting that he did not support emergency general surgery being removed from Causeway Hospital
The Northern Health Trust previously recommended that EGS should only be provided at one of its hospital sites
It is understood the Department of Health was still waiting for a final recommendation to come to the minister
Nesbitt was unable to attend last week’s meeting due to a constituency election meeting in Strangford and Burrows attended in his place, where he voiced opposition to the closure of the EGS service
Last week he said he did not agree with that and would “never agree with it”
“Emergency surgery must remain at the Causeway Hospital and it should be built up, not run down and that is my position and it’s not for negotiation.”
However, he stopped short of saying whether or not he would direct Nesbitt not to sign off on the move
Speaking on Wednesday morning, after the resignation, Burrows acknowledged the need for reform but said “how we deliver reform is every bit as important as what we ultimately decide”
He said “safe, sustainable services,” are the priority and reform must also address “health inequalities and regional imbalance, and recognise that people in different parts of Northern Ireland do not currently enjoy equal access to timely healthcare”
He said “reform cannot simply be done to communities”
“I don’t believe we have got that balance right, and the strength of feeling around Causeway shows what happens when communities feel decisions are arriving rather than being made with them”
Nesbitt’s resignation letter
In his resignation letter, Nesbitt said that when Burrows became party leader, Burrows told him his “one ‘red line'” was puberty blockers and his “opposition to Northern Ireland participating in the Pathways trial”
In a copy of the letter he sent to Burrows, posted on social media, Nesbitt said the party leader had now “introduced a second red line” regarding the EGS at Causeway Hospital
Nesbitt said he had discovered Burrows’ view of “issues under [his] purview” by “monitoring the media”
“Yesterday, I offered you a way to manage this situation. As I have not received a timely response and given the shock waves you have created in the HSC system, this matter needs resolved,” he said
‘A significant legacy’
In his statement on Wednesday, Burrows described Nesbitt as approaching his ministerial position “with seriousness, integrity and a determination” and said the direction he set on tackling issues would continue
In a statement on Tuesday, a UUP spokesperson thanked Nesbitt “sincerely for his service and for the leadership he has given to our health and social care workforce”
“Mike took on one of the most difficult briefs in government with a genuine determination to make health and social care better for everyone in Northern Ireland
“From beginning the shift towards a neighbourhood model of care, to putting health inequalities at the centre of policy, he leaves a significant legacy, not least the progress made on some of Northern Ireland’s longest waiting lists.”
It is unclear who will take over as health minister but Nesbitt’s decision to quit leaves the party seven days to nominate a replacement
Speaking on Radio Ulster’s The Nolan Show, the DUP’s Paul Frew said that if the UUP “walked away” from the health ministry, the D’Hondt system would be triggered, and he believed the DUP would be the next party in line for that ministry
“Of course we would then put a minister in place,” he added
Dr Alan Stout, who chairs the British Medical Association’s (BMA) Northern Ireland Council, said he has “huge respect” for Nesbitt for the “clinically led principles” that he has had on Causeway Hospital, adding that he put “patient safety above politics”
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme, he said: “It’s always for too easy to play the populism card, to promise what is undeliverable
He said politicians who are prepared to stand up and make the difficult decisions are what is needed
The chair of Stormont’s health committee, Phillip McGuigan, said he was convening an urgent meeting of the committee
“The loss of Mike Nesbitt…comes at a time when our health and social care system is already under immense pressure
“Patients and staff need leadership, stability and clarity,” the Sinn Féin MLA said, adding that the committee needs to understand what happens next and how it can help play a positive role.”
What have politicians said?
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Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant thanked Nesbitt “for the enormous contribution” he made during his time as health minster “in confronting the huge challenges facing the health service and driving forward reform”
He said it was “vital for patients across Northern Ireland that this work continues without interruption”
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First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she was “genuinely sorry” to see Nesbitt resign
“I believe his presence in the executive will be missed,” she posted on social media
“He played a constructive and mature part in the executive and was making welcome progress in reducing waiting lists.”
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Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly thanked Nesbitt “for the positive engagement on a range of issues, particularly on health waiting lists”
She said “work must continue” and that she would “push for accelerated delivery”
“Too many people were and are waiting much too long – for operations, for investigations and tests, for the much-needed medical interventions. Access to GPs continues to be a huge and frustrating issue for people all over Northern Ireland,” she said in a social media post
DUP Leader Gavin Robinson said there was a test for Burrows
“Will he appoint a Health Minister who will deliver the commitment he made to the people of Causeway, or will he walk away from the Executive and surrender responsibility for Health altogether?”
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Stormont’s leader of the opposition, Matthew O’Toole, said the resignation underlined the need for a more serious and responsible approach to government in Northern Ireland
“This news tonight will come as an insult to healthcare workers and patients who had been promised a serious approach to reforming our broken system,” the SDLP MLA said
“Once again, our public services are undermined by irresponsibility, short-termism and political game-playing.”
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said her immediate concern was “for those who work in the health service and the patients reliant on its effectiveness”
“Credit to Mike Nesbitt with whom I have worked well,” she added
The party’s health spokesperson, Nuala McAllister, accused Burrows of putting “the cart before the horse” when he said he would never support the removal of services from the hospital because Stormont politicians are still waiting for the final evidence from experts
“I think it would have been untenable for Mike to remain in his position…when his party leader has come out against decisions,” she added
Independent MLA for the area where the Causeway Hospital is situated, Claire Sugden, described Nesbitt’s resignation as “regrettable” and told North West Today “we are at a point in the mandate where any new successor in the health portfolio is really there in a caretaking role.”
Aontú deputy leader Gemma Brolly, who is chair of the SoS Causeway Hospital campaign group, said the new health minister must prioritise and defend services at the site
She said her priority was “to halt the pattern of stripping essential services” from the hospital
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‘Disappointment’ over plan to cut emergency surgery at Causeway
Northern Ireland
Mike Nesbitt
NI Health
UUP (Ulster Unionist Party)
