AQW 22590/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 16/09/2021
Answered On Date: 14/10/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health what communication his Department has had with Health and Social Care Trusts in regards to the South Eastern Trust's request to minimise the volume of constituency enquiries that are sent; and how his Department is working with the Trusts to ensure constituents enquires are being met.

Answer:

My Department is satisfied that HSC Trusts remain fully committed to responding to correspondence from elected representatives in a timely fashion. When Members raise concerns on behalf of individual constituents, these should certainly be given appropriate priority.

It is important to note that responses to correspondence often require input from staff who are managing competing and unprecedented pressures across health and social care services. I know Members will be cognisant of these pressures, in relation to the quantity of their correspondence and the timescale for responses.