Pay and politics dominate the news in 2024

People, wages, politics and a pinch of positivity best sum up Northern Ireland’s health and social care story in 2024.

The harrowing stories were many – who can forget the personal testimonies during the UK Covid-19 inquiry when it was held in Belfast, and the scandal around cervical screening which revealed that many women and their families had failed?

Hospital waiting lists have hit a major milestone, with more than half a million people now on a list to have their first consultation with a specialist.

Amid the scandals and excuses, the year also saw significant developments in Westminster and the Republic of Ireland regarding assisted dying.

Actions have also been taken regarding the “duty of candour,” emphasizing the need for honesty in health care.

As always, it has been intense as most departments have been working flat out with dedicated staff to keep things afloat.

The year started with mass strike and largest walkout of public sector workers in Northern Ireland for years.

Tens of thousands of people from 16 unions ditched their tools over wages – and what was a shaky start to the year ended on a more stable note with progress on a salary agreement.

Patient stories have dominated the news, particularly in internal public inquiries, including Muckamore and Urology.

But these are the heartbreaking personal experiences from within the London infected blood investigation in May, this could concentrate minds.

A damning report into the tainted blood scandal reveals that the infection of 30,000 people with HIV and hepatitis between 1970 and 1991 could have been “largely avoided”.

Local faces were among thousands gathered to hear inquiry chairman Sir Brian Langstaff conclude that doctors’ bodies, the NHS and governments had “repeatedly” failed their victims.

The Belfast Health Trust and the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (NIBTS) have apologized.

Conan McIlwrath of County Antrim said there was more to the report than just the words: after all, “you don’t use the word failure 190 times for nothing.”

In April, Britain’s Belfast-seat Covid-19 inquiry hears devastating evidence multiple failures across several NI executive departments.

We have learned that “political dysfunction” has hampered the rollout and compliance of some Covid-19 policies, which lawyers at the inquiry say have had a “direct impact on cases and deaths”.

We heard that “elderly people were horribly exposed” and that the Public Health Agency “failed to respond quickly to the severity of what was happening.”

Former Health Minister Robin Swann said on March 10, 2020 that the money had fallen into his lap because of the “grave position” Northern Ireland found itself in.

It wouldn’t be an end-of-year review in Northern Ireland without mention of a new executive.

In February, Robin Swann returned as Health Minister, but his entry into the MP role in July triggered his departure and the appointment of Mike Nesbitt as his successor.

There was a pinch of positivity when – in what appeared to be a new direction – the new health minister made his first speech in office at a community center for vulnerable adults.

On paper, this marks a shift in focus towards tackling health inequalities and increased spending on community care.

However, transformation requires funding and much wrangling has followed, culminating in the minister’s rejection of the November scrutiny round, worth £350m to his department.

He said his department was still £100 million short of what it needed to resolve the health sector pay dispute.

Come December, the Department of Health (DoH) received £8.8 billion in Stormont budgetNesbitt describing it as a “very difficult allocation”, but adding that he accepted the challenge.

Earlier this month, the minister released his three-year plan which the DoH said would require executive support and funding to achieve the targets.

Stormont’s health committee has examined a range of issues in detail, with a particular focus on Belfast’s stalled new maternity hospital.

They said additional funding was difficult to justify as the new maternity building continues to hemorrhage money.

It is rare for individual patients to be featured in back-to-back year-end reviews, but ovarian cancer patient Christine Campbell is deservedly the exception.

Terminally ill, Christine lived longer than doctors expected and was able to tell us this year that she had benefited from a lifeline thanks to a new treatment called Avastin.

In July 2023, he was told that he had less than a year to live, but Christine was still there.

“I think now that I’ve been given this extra lifeline, or I feel like it’s an extra lifeline for me, it’s given me a little bit of hope,” he said. she declared.

What a year for women’s voices highlighting the need for change in women’s health care.

There was a call for women’s health centers and another for a women’s health strategy.

‘Ladies with Letters’ put a human face to everything that went wrong at the Southern Heath Trust over the cervical smear scandal.

The examinations concluded that eight women whose smear tests were misinterpreted by screeners developed cancerand 11 other women required treatment.

Two women died.

The Southern Trust has apologised.

One of the women, Stella McLoughlin, told BBC News NI it was an “unforgivable scandal”.

Like most years, we end this one with impatience.

Perhaps the biggest dilemma was the challenge of keeping staff on board.

Agreement has been reached between the DoH and most unions on a wage deal.

The question is how to avoid an annual squabble over health care payment in the future.