A CALL has been made for Edwin Poots to resign as health Minister over the residential care home crisis.
As the minister prepared to meet with the head of three Health Trusts who have revealed plans to close all care homes, UUP MLA Roy Beggs said he was not fit for office.
“When the Commissioner for Older People describes the situation as “shameful” and identifies the fundamental problem as “an abject lack of leadership”, the Minister has to listen. Claire Keatinge has a statutory duty to be the Champion of older people’s interests and cannot be clearer about where fault lies,” said Mr Beggs.
“The question is, who approved the apparently co-ordinated series of total closure announcements by the Trusts? Surely the Minister realised how sensitive the issue is, in which case he has failed to take control. Otherwise, he was unaware of the sensitivities, in which case he is not fit for office.
“Edwin Poots should immediately move to restore public confidence and not hide behind Trust officials. The human impact of the decisions to close all residential care homes combined with worsening figures on AE waiting times, cancelled appointments and the proposal to move childrens` heart services to Dublin continues to erode public confidence.
“So far the decisions made by Mr Poots and his advisers have shown crass insensitivity to elderly care homes residents. That arrogant attitude needs to change immediately. The buck stops with Edwin Poots.”
Parliamentary reports show first speaker only - follow this lnk for the full transcription.
Articles may come from parliamentary reports, various public news feeds and Google News Search. Content is republished here for context. Copyright is respected and remains with the original author at all times. Original Article:http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/regional/call-made-for-poots-to-resign-over-care-homes-1-5051913
