Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“The BBC’s revelation of the Northern Trust paper to induce care home closures by starving them of admissions, confirms an allegation I have long made, namely that the department and Trusts are in cahoots to secure closures by stealth. It further underscores the call I made last week, in the context of the supposed fresh consultation, that this policy must be reversed if that consultation is to be anything but a farce.
“NHS care homes must be given the opportunity to operate on a level playing field and that includes uninhibited admissions, so that the real level of demand can be demonstrated, not suppressed, as is the current ploy.
“Earlier this year Minister Poots was informed in advance of the Northern Trust’s plan for 100% closure, he did nothing to stop it till the wider public furore forced his hand. If his present platitudes about not forcing anyone out of their home are to mean anything, then, he must override this prohibition on new admissions. Failure to do so will merely confirm his complicity.”
