AQW 39715/22-27


Miss Nuala McAllister
Alliance Party
North Belfast


Tabled Date: 03/02/2026
Answered On Date: 25/02/2026
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of (i) percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube surgeries carried out, in the last 12 months; and (ii) children waiting for the surgery.


Answer:
Home Care Services commissioned by HSC Trusts may be provided by the Trust’s own Home Care Service and/or contracted to one or more of the independent sector providers. Each HSC Trust provides different proportions of statutory versus independent sector domiciliary care.
In 2024, the highest level of in-house domiciliary care hours (i.e. provided by Trust employees) was provided by the Southern HSC Trust. Forty-one percent of domiciliary care hours were provided by the Trust and 59% provided via the independent sector.
The table below details a breakdown of domiciliary care worker vacancies actively being recruited in each HSC Trust, for the provision of statutory services, in each quarter since 30 September 2024.
HSC Domiciliary Care Worker Vacancies Actively Being Recruited, by HSC Trust
HSC Trust
30-Sep-24
31-Dec-24
31-Mar-25
30-Jun-25
30-Sep-25
Belfast
77
16
1
69
8
Northern
105
113
10
82
0
South Eastern
80
42
6
20
0
Southern
212
221
233
207
191
Western
51
17
24
28
17
Total
525
409
274
406
216
Source: Information & Analysis Directorate, DoH
This information highlights that the Southern HSC Trust is consistently recruiting more domiciliary care workers compared to the other HSC Trusts, in line with the fact that they provide a higher proportion of statutory domiciliary care hours.