Calls for urgent reform within NI Health Service

There are calls for urgent reform within the Health Service in Northern Ireland.
It comes as its revealed the Western Health and Social Care Trust spent over £27 million on locum and agency staff last year.
SDLP Health Spokesperson Mark H Durkan says the latest figures revealing that £27 million was spent last year in the Western Health and Social Care Trust on employing locum and agency staff reinforces the need for urgent reform within the health service.
The Foyle MLA says; ‘Intervention from the Department of Health is necessary to make it easier for the Western Trust area in particular, to recruit and retain medical specialists, which would negate the need for locum expenditure and in turn tackle the ever-present issue of waiting lists.
He says the issue demands long-term solutions; whether that’s establishing a medical school in the North West or enhancing north-south collaboration.
He added that it is a major concern of his that Brexit will compound the situation even further.