'Not possible' to offer a pay award for Northern Ireland health workers with £360m savings needed

The Department of Health has said it is unable to offer a pay award for Northern Ireland staff.

It comes following mounting pressures after the Secretary of State's budget announcement.

On Monday, the Department of Health outlined measures to make £360m of savings in a bid to balance the books.

In a letter to political parties, Department of Health Permanent Secretary Peter May said: "Funding a pay offer under the current budget settlement would require large scale cuts on an unprecedented scale, with severe and lasting implications for health and social care services."

Mr May stated: “Given the legislative basis supported by guidance from the Secretary of State, I have concluded that taking such a decision would be out with my authority as Permanent Secretary.

“This means that, as things currently stand, it will not be possible to offer a pay award. I am very aware of the potential impact this could have on staff and on industrial relations.”

The Department of Health has projected a funding gap of £732m. The measures outlined today aim to reduce that gap.

These measures include a reduction in initiatives to tackle Northern Ireland's waiting list crisis.

However the department intends to still invest £61.4m in Waiting List Initiative funding this year to help prioritise provision for patients requiring red flag and other time critical assessments and treatments.

A planned increase in training places for nursing and midwifery staff has had to be stalled, which will impact on staffing numbers in the coming years.

Funding for community and voluntary groups has also had to be reduced.

The Department has protected domiciliary care and home help services. But warned that if additional funding is not forthcoming further cuts may have to be made.

Mr May warned that while some impact from these cost cutting measures is inevitable, they may be achievable "without long-term or irrevocable damage to services".

"The department’s priority is to mitigate where possible both immediate impact on frontline services and long-term irreversible consequences for the health and care system."

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