January - Strikes and Stormont’s return
After two years without Stormont, 2024 started with news of a deal to restore the institutions with £3.3bn in funding attached.
The political vacuum had caused considerable anxiety in healthcare, with cancer patients among many demanding MLAs return to work.
One of the largest days of strike action in Northern Ireland’s history followed on January 18, with an estimated 170,000 public sector workers including nurses, teachers and civil servants walking out over pay.
For the first time, junior doctors in Northern Ireland were also balloted for strike action.
Meanwhile, the soon to be reinstalled health minister Robin Swann was already eyeing up the general election in a bid to unseat the DUP’s Paul Girvan in South Antrim.
New figures also revealed a 98% increase in drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland over the last decade.
February - Measles, IVF and emergency rooms at breaking point
Pay talks with health workers were the “immediate priority” for Robin Swann in February, with the £3.3bn financial package from the Conservative government, with £688m set aside to settle public sector pay claims.
Close attention was also being paid to a measles outbreak across Europe and the first death in the Republic from the disease in five years - with the the first case in Northern Ireland for seven years confirmed shortly afterwards.
A funding cut of £85,000 for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice was reversed, but a charity warned this was still not enough to stop a reduction in bed capacity.
Emergency department staff were also reported to be at breaking point, with reports that December waiting times were among the worst on record.
There was increased support in fertility, with eligible woman in Northern Ireland to be given one full IVF cycle - although this fell short of three cycles proposed under the 2020 New Decade New Approach.
March - ‘Pay us or lose us’
March began with hopes that tobacco ban legislation could be extended to Northern Ireland.
The message from junior doctors on their first ever day of strike action was “pay us or lose us,” including those speaking to the Irish News outside the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
The Royal College of Nursing also voted to reject a pay offer, while other health unions accepted an offer of a 5% increase.
Detectives investigating the actions of former Belfast neurologist, Dr Michael Watt, confirmed that over 150 people had come forward after a new appeal.
April - ‘Out of control’ waiting times for children
April began with GPs welcoming the transfer of vasectomy services in Northern Ireland to primary care, making it more locally available for hundreds of patients.
It was one of the few positive headlines that month, with a warning that children’s waiting lists in Northern Ireland were “out of control,” increasing by 172% since 2016.
A workforce report also detailed how Northern Ireland GPs were “struggling to the point of collapse.
Robin Swann confirmed he would step down as health minister before the general election, while saying he would vote against a Stormont budget over fears it would be a disaster for the health service.
Social workers in Belfast started strike action over concerns that extreme staffing pressures were affecting vulnerable children, while consultant doctors were also “left with no alternative” but to ballot on strikes.
As the Covid Inquiry began hearings in Belfast, a text from the Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Michael McBride attracted attention, as he labelled Stormont ministers as “dysfunctional b******s.”
May - Covid inquiry exposes tensions at Stormont
In May, the Health Minister Robin Swann told the inquiry that the Stormont Executive “lost the respect and commitment” of the public to follow lockdown restrictions.
He said there was a “challenging” environment after then deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and other Sinn Féin ministers attended the funeral of senior republican Bobby Storey in June 2020 despite lockdown restrictions.
The former DUP leader and First Minister Arlene Foster told the inquiry of her “great regret” that Stormont did not anticipate the speed of the Covid-19 spread.
She also faced questioning about the DUP’s controversial use of the cross-community veto mechanism to block the extension of some Covid-19 restrictions.
Other health stories in May included news that Northern Ireland’s 10-year mental health strategy, costed at £1.2bn, had received only £9m in funding.
New figures showed over 170 women from Northern Ireland had travelled to England and Wales for an abortion in 2022, “substantially lower” than a peak of 1,855 in 1990 and 905 in 2012.
Social workers also blocked the Shankill Road in protest against “extreme staffing pressures” leaving vulnerable children at risk, including one who told the Irish News: “I’ll wake up at 4am thinking is that child safe?”
Briefly blocking Belfast's Shankill Road today, social workers on strike say chronic staffing shortages are putting vulnerable children at risk. @nipsa @irish_news pic.twitter.com/Jwv36DYkUA
— Allan Preston (@AllanPreston) May 8, 2024
Sinn Féin turned heads as they announced Pat Cullen, the high-profile UK leader of the Royal College of Nursing, was standing in the general election for Fermanagh South Tyrone, in which she was ultimately successful.
June - Junior doctors march on Stormont
In June, a joint statement from Northern Ireland’s health trust leaders warned the health budget risked “serious harm to the public,” while the new Health Minister Mike Nesbitt insisted he would not implement “catastrophic cuts.”
One year after a major report into children’s social services, the author said that a record number of children in care would only increase without decisive action from Stormont.
Junior doctors staged a 48-hour strike, with hundreds marching on Stormont over the continuing pay dispute.
Consultant doctors were also preparing to strike on June 26, but suspended the action over a “credible” pay offer.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health confirmed that 2,168 abortions were carried out in Northern Ireland in 2022/23, following a liberalisation of the law in 2019.
It also emerged that £40m was spent on private taxis by health trusts and the ambulance service over the past five years.
Making his last speech as BMA NI Council Chair, Dr Tom Black warned that a brain drain of doctors to the Republic would continue without urgent investment.
July - Fresh delays at long awaited Belfast maternity hospital
July began with confirmation that a further 18 patients who died under the care of the neurologist Dr Michael Watt would be reviewed.
Angry that women in the most deprived communities lived 14 fewer years in good health than in the most well-off areas, he told the Irish News this was “simply not acceptable in a first world country.”
Belfast’s long-delayed new maternity hospital faced fresh delays, after high levels of the bacteria pseudomonas were found in its water system.
August - International health workers targeted as race riots erupt in Belfast
After the tragedy of three young girls being stabbed to death at a dance class in Southport, the subsequent outrage and race-fuelled riots quickly spread to Belfast.
Health chiefs said they were “disgusted” it had left international recruits feeling “frightened and unwelcome.”
Among them was Filipino nurse Aldrin Bañas, who has cared for patients in Belfast for over 20 years.
“We were the heroes during the pandemic, now we’re targets,” he told the Irish News.
The growing problem of drugs in rural areas was also highlighted by a Strabane father, who spoke to the Irish News about the devastating loss of his son Rory Carlin (22) who took his own life after struggling with addiction.
The PSNI spoke of the considerable challenges facing officers, with 357 officers on sick leave for mental health issues - with extra support put in place during the Twelfth of July period and rioting in August.
A Co Armagh woman (44) who died in August from cervical cancer after failed screening tests in the Southern Trust was praised as “beautiful inside and out.”
Erin Harbinson had campaigned for answers as part of the Ladies with Letters group, and spoke out about her illness in the hope it would help other women.
In Enniskillen, the Western Health and Social care Trust prepared to bring a consultation on permanently withdrawing emergency general surgery from the South West Acute hospital.
Consultant doctors voted to accept a pay offer, while there were protests in Belfast over a decision to extend a ban on puberty blockers to Northern Ireland.
This included the mother of one Co Down teenager, who said she supported the use of puberty blockers if it protected her child’s mental health.
September - Anger over death of Nigerian care worker in Newry
The tragic effect of race-riots continued in September, when Nigerian care worker Anu Okasanya (46) died in Newry after suffering an asthma attack when she ran from a group of youths she had reported for attacking another person.
GPs warned that thousands of pensioners would be at risk over cuts to winter fuel payments, while the newly elected Alliance MP for Lagan Valley, Sorcha Eastwood, used her maiden speech to speak out about her husband’s rare blood cancer diagnosis.
There was criticism car parking charges at the Ulster Hospital increased by 45% overnight.
Stormont had passed a bill abolishing hospital car parking charges in 2022, but this was deferred by two years as hospitals were not ready to introduce the technology needed for free parking.
Proposals for Stormont’s new Public Health Bill generated controversy, with a consultation asking the public if they supported “mandatory vaccinations,” with the backlash forcing the Health Minister to publicly state he would not support such a move.
In September, he also introduced a regional waiting list for breast cancer assessment in response to “unacceptable waiting times”.
October - Health expert Bengoa returns to Northern Ireland
October began with the Health Minister’s plans to reorganise hospital services - which included grouping more specialist services together, meaning some patients would have to travel further but with reduced waiting times.
The DUP were among those who said the plans had an “underwhelming” lack of detail.
Councillors heard that drug dealing on a daily basis at the Royal Victoria Hospital meant sniffer dogs were being in the emergency department, with bodycams also being considered for staff.
Eight years after publishing a major report on how to reform Northern Ireland’s health service, Rafael Bengoa returned to renew his encouragement - warning the pressures were more acute than ever, but a common problem across Europe.
Hundreds gathered in Belfast to protest against the Public Health Bill, claiming it “threatens your medical freedom with forced exams, quarantine, and vaccinations”.
As part of a series on cancer care for the Irish News, patients and experts spoke of the challenges and support they experienced.
This included one breast cancer survivor from Co Down who spoke of feeling “lost” after her treatment ended.
Financial discrimination against cancer patients was highlighted by Professor Mark Lawler from Queen’s University, while the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry predicted 14,000 people will be diagnosed ever year by 2040.
The Health Minister also stated his intention to introduce minimum alcohol pricing in Northern Ireland.
A doctor described patients begging him for diazepam pills ahead of punishment beatings from paramilitaries, as part of a study into GPs working in Northern Ireland’s most deprived areas.
Today's #frontpage: Patients called GP surgery for Diazepam ‘before arranged punishment beatings’ pic.twitter.com/9ERm9VWL0j
— The Irish News (@irish_news) October 31, 2024
Pressure on GP services was also highlighted after the closure of a surgery in Magherafelt was described as “the worst outcome for patients,” with over 2,300 forced to move to a new doctor.
Fairhill Medical Practice in Magherafelt is set to close on Thursday, with over 2,300 patients being assigned to 11 neighboring practices. The Irish News spoke to people outside the practice today. pic.twitter.com/13cDTVUqfS
— The Irish News (@irish_news) October 31, 2024
November - ‘A slap in the face’ for health workers over pay deal
In November, the mother of Castlederg teenager Billy Caldwell who suffered from debilitating epilepsy was “thriving” six years after medical cannabis was legalised, but warned of disaster over NHS access and private sector quality.
A further seven employees at Muckamore Mental Health Hospital were charged with maltreatment of patients.
Meanwhile, an inside look at a court where “graduations” are held with offenders with drug and alcohol issues showed a novel attempt to lower reoffending rates.
This included one frontline nurse told the Irish News the latest pay dispute felt like “a slap in the face.”
The “omnishambles” surrounding the new Belfast maternity hospital continued, with the DUP’s Diane Dodds learning that potentially deadly bacteria was found in 459 water outlets, while the Health Minister was “deeply dissatisfied” when a “medical gas pipework issue” was discovered.
December - Assisted Dying Bill passes despite opposition from Northern Ireland MPs
Northern Ireland MPs had their say on an Assisted Dying Bill in Westminster, which passed - with only the SDLP’s Colum Eastwood voting in favour.
Disability campaigners told the Irish News why they still feel undervalued in Northern Ireland.
This included Joanne Sansome from Belfast, who has cerberal palsy, and said the benefits system had forced her to choose between supported living and having a job.
The Alliance Party deputy-leader Eóin Tennyson launched a consultation for a Private Members' Bill on conversion therapy in Northern Ireland, which includes a provision for a seven year jail term.
The Health Minister announced that the gas pipe defect at the new maternity hospital would be fixed “swiftly” at a cost of £50,000.
He also unveiled a new three-year plan for health and social care, which he said would include a “good deal” on staff pay for 2024/25.
Further progress on pay also saw a number of health unions accept a new offer, while resident doctors (the recently updated term for junior doctors) will consider an offer in the new year.
