To ask the Minister of Health, pursuant to AQW 20162/17-22, for his assessment of the adequacy of provision of health service ambulances and ambulance staff.

NIAS has experienced steadily rising demand and deteriorating response time performance in recent years. A demand and capacity review was carried out in August 2017, which recognised that there was a significant shortfall in the number of staff required to operate the current service and a requirement for a significant increase in staff to meet demand in the next five years. Since the demand and capacity review was carried out, the gap between the number of staff available and the number needed to deliver the current service has widened.

Pressures on ambulance crews have been increasing due to the number of NIAS staff vacancies, the unmet requirement for additional staff and ongoing issues with lengthy patient handovers at Emergency Departments across the region as a result of pressure across the entire Health and Social Care system.

NIAS will not be able to respond effectively to present and future demand until further investment is provided. My Department is currently reviewing a final draft outline business case for the required investment, which was received from NIAS in December 2021 and this will be submitted for further consideration by the Department of Finance.

As Health Minister I am extremely concerned about the current uncertainty over the 3-year budget planning exercise due to the absence of a functioning Executive, and the potential delay this is likely to have on key programmes such as this. This will undoubtedly affect patient care and it is vital that clarity on the budget is given as soon as possible.