Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows has criticised how health service reform is being implemented in Northern Ireland after his own party’s minister for the sector quit amid a row with him.
Resignation over Causeway Hospital plan
Health minister Mike Nesbitt resigned on Tuesday after a fallout with Mr Burrows over the proposed withdrawal of emergency general surgery from Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, Co Londonderry. The dispute flared after Mr Burrows stated at a town hall meeting that he was against the plan recommended by health trust bosses.
In a hard-hitting resignation letter, Mr Nesbitt said he was not going to be a minister who learned about his party leader’s views on key issues through the media.
Burrows thanks Nesbitt, outlines priorities
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Burrows thanked Mr Nesbitt for his service as minister. “He took on arguably the hardest job in government and approached it with seriousness, integrity and a determination to improve our health service,” he said.
“The direction he set on reform, on tackling health inequalities and on driving down waiting lists was the right one, and that work will continue.
“I will be discussing the health brief with party colleagues over the coming days and expect to confirm a nomination soon.
“Whoever takes on the role will have the full backing of the Ulster Unionist Party and our Assembly team.
“The immediate priority remains putting patients first: reducing waiting lists and improving access to GPs, wait times in A&E, diagnostics, treatment and surgery right across Northern Ireland.
“Important work is already under way and a change of minister will not interrupt it.”
Reform must engage communities
Mr Burrows suggested communities impacted by proposed health service reforms had not been adequately consulted. “There is also no escaping the need for meaningful reform,” he said.
“The Ulster Unionist Party has never shied away from that.
“But how we deliver reform is every bit as important as what we ultimately decide.
“Safe, sustainable services must be the overriding priority.
“Reform must also address health inequalities and regional imbalance, and recognise that people in different parts of Northern Ireland do not currently enjoy equal access to timely healthcare.
“That means looking at the whole picture: workforce pressures, recruitment and retention, the risk of losing vital clinical skills and capacity, ambulance and travel times, sustainability, patient outcomes, and the particular needs of different communities.
“Clinical evidence must be central to decision making, but reform cannot simply be done to communities.
“There must be genuine engagement with the clinicians and staff delivering services and with the people who depend on them.
“I don’t believe we have got that balance right, and the strength of feeling around Causeway shows what happens when communities feel decisions are arriving rather than being made with them.”
Nesbitt’s letter details row
Mr Nesbitt posted a copy of his resignation letter, dated August 18, to Mr Burrows on X in which the details of their row is laid bare. He wrote that Mr Burrows gave him a “red line” initially over his opposition to puberty blockers, but had recently introduced a second red line on his stance over the Causeway Hospital.
“When you became leader, you informed me, with your hallmark clarity, that when it came to health, you had but one ‘red line’, namely puberty blockers and your opposition to Northern Ireland participating in the Pathways trial,” he stated.
“I accepted that, even though our engagement with Pathways was the price of securing the Executive’s agreement to join GB’s ban on blockers, something most observers thought impossible to achieve.
“Many Executive colleagues will rightly feel betrayed by my U-turn.
“This letter concerns the fact you appear to have introduced a second ‘red line’, regarding emergency general surgery at Causeway Hospital.
“I am not the sort of minister who is happy to discover the leader’s view of issues under my purview by having to monitor the media.
“Yesterday (Monday), I offered you a way to manage this situation.
“As I have not received a timely response, and given the shockwaves you have created in the HSC system, this matter needs resolved.
“Being Minister of Health remains the greatest privilege of my political career.
“It is, therefore, with no little regret that I have composed this letter of resignation.”
Political reactions
Mr Nesbitt was twice UUP leader, from 2013 to 2017 and from 2024 until earlier this year when Mr Burrows was appointed. He had been health minister since 2024.
In the barbed resignation letter, Mr Nesbitt thanked Mr Burrows for agreeing to be co-opted as a North Antrim MLA after the election of Robin Swann to Westminster. “Bringing you into Stormont is on me, as is my decision to stand down as party leader, opening the opportunity for you to mount a successful campaign to take the role,” he wrote.
“Previously, I held the record for the shortest time between becoming an MLA and assuming the leadership, but you proved I was only playing at it. Congratulations!”
Mr Nesbitt was first elected as an MLA in 2011 after a high-profile broadcasting career and he was also commissioner for victims and survivors.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she was “genuinely sorry” to see Mr Nesbitt resign, describing him having “played a constructive and mature part in the Executive and was making welcome progress in reducing waiting lists”.
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly thanked Mr Nesbitt for “positive engagement on a range of issues, particularly on health waiting lists”, adding “whoever steps in must continue this important work of transformation”.
Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant thanked Mr Nesbitt for his service, adding it was “vital for patients across Northern Ireland that this work continues without interruption”.
“I look forward to the appointment of a new health minister as soon as possible, so that there is strong leadership in the Department, further progress on reform and continued stability,” he said.
“I have spoken to Mike and wish him well for the future and thank him again for his service.”
