Monthly Archives: February 2017

  Health Minister had promised waiting list plan and funding boost by January 2017 No plan and no funding allocation has materialised Shameful as longer a patient has to wait the more chance of them coming to harm Ulster Unionist East Antrim candidate Roy Beggs has accused Health Minister Michelle O’Neill of blatant disregard and cruelly raising expectations of patients, after she failed to meet her own key commitment to produce a plan to tackle the crisis in hospital waiting lists by January. Roy Beggs, a former member of the Stormont Health Committee, said: “The very first action point in the Department of Health’s response to the Bengoa report was that by January 2017 it would develop a comprehensive approach for addressing the unprecedented waiting lists crisis. “The collapse of the Assembly as a fallout of the RHI debacle put the plan under some doubt, yet when asked only three … Continue reading →

East Antrim Ulster Unionist Party candidate Roy Beggs has responded to the Department for Infrastructure’s public consultation on mineral exploration, in order for there to be a tightening of Permitted Development Rights and for lessons to be learnt following the recent controversial Woodburn drill site. Roy Beggs said, “Following the decision to drill at Woodburn Carrickfergus, there needs to be a tightening of Permitted Development Rights (PDR’s). The Woodburn drill site was within the water catchment area of the Woodburn dams supplying mains water to a substantial proportion of the East Antrim constituency and even parts of Belfast.” “It is clear that the current PDR legislation, which permitted this drilling exploration and endangered a significant public asset, is not fit for purpose.  It is important that we improve the Permitted Development Rights in order to prevent a re-occurrence of this ever happening again.” The UUP representative who responded to the … Continue reading →

East Antrim Ulster Unionist Party candidate Roy Beggs has welcomed news that a ‘small amount of drugs’ has been seized in the Carrickfergus area and warned of reports he received that cannabis is being laced by addictive Class A drugs. Mr Beggs said “I welcome the news that the PSNI have carried out a successful drugs raid in the Carrickfergus area (1st February) where cannabis was uncovered during searches. It is welcome news that these drugs are now off our street. I am particularly concerned with credible reports that have received that some dealers in Northern Ireland are now lacing cannabis with small amounts of addictive Class A drugs. Regular cannabis use is known to have an adverse   mental health impact. It is also known as a gateway drug to hard drugs. However, parents and cannabis users should be aware and must be particularly concerned at this increased potential of … Continue reading →

Roy Beggs, who by placing Assembly Questions in 2014 highlighted that diabetes patients in the Northern HSC Trust area were 3 times more likely to suffer amputation than those living in the Western Trust region has welcomed the evaluation of the 1-Stop diabetes clinic pilot in the Northern Trust which has been attributed with reducing the unacceptability high number of amputations by 90% and he has urged that the   service would be available to all diabetes patients locally. Roy Beggs, Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate for East Antrim said, “When I was a member of the Health committee and the All Party Group on Diabetes I became aware of the growing occurrence of Diabetes and that the support services covering Northern HSCT and my East Antrim constituents were not as effective as elsewhere.   By asking pertinent questions, I was able to highlight that local diabetes patients were 3 times as … Continue reading →