Health Minister Michael McGimpsey is expected to spell out to the Assembly on Monday his plans for reorganising the NHS in Northern Ireland. Those plans involve further streamlining of the administration. Already 18 health and social services trusts have been reduced to five and it is expected that the four Health Boards will be merged into a smaller single Health and Social Care Authority.

The overall aim of the review is to save money by stripping away layers of bureaucracy and putting the extra funding into front line services. That is a worthy ambition and one that will be widely welcomed if it can be achieved as the NHS is constantly facing cost constraints.

However, Mr McGimpsey must also tackle other issues which are denting the reputation of the health service. While it has to be stressed that the level of care delivered and the dedication of medical and nursing staff at all levels, in general terms, is beyond reproach, there are areas of concern which should be addressed. Read more