SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan joined Party Leader Colum Eastwood and colleagues Daniel McCrossan MLA and Richie McPhillips MLA at a meeting with Western Health and Social Care Trust officials over a huge underspend on learning disability services.
Mr Durkan said that during the meeting he repeated his call for funding to be restored to services in the Western Trust area and for a full investigation into the circumstances of the underspend.
Speaking after the meeting, he said: “An SDLP delegation met with Western Trust officials today in relation to the significant underspend on learning disability services.
“We put on the record our very strong frustration at the way this issue has been handled after years of fighting alongside service users for even a basic level of care.
“Given the nature and the scale of the underspend here, it’s critical that the resources are diverted back into these services rather than used as stop gaps in other parts of the health service.
“Service users have clearly suffered unnecessarily over the last number of years; they must be assured that this resource will be used to enhance the quality of care that they receive.
“The SDLP will continue to press the Trust to deliver the highest quality of care,” added the former Environment Minister
