Coronavirus infections up 31% in seven days but zero deaths recorded and hospital admissions continue to fall

Dear reader

The latest plan to tackle Northern Ireland’s long waiting lists was unveiled by Health Minister Robin Swann on Tuesday.

There have been plenty of previous plans to improve our struggling health service, but Mr Swann’s five-year strategy is going to cost £700m.

The Ulster Unionist minister says he wants our long waiting lists to be “banished” by 2026.

There are currently more than 335,000 waiting on a first consultant-led appointment in Northern Ireland, with some facing waits of up to seven years for treatment.

Undoubtedly the situation has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, but our health service was already in a desperate state before coronavirus arrived.

In terms of Covid, new infections have shown an increase but hospital admissions for the virus continue to fall.

Alistair Bushe
Editor

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