'Bringing you into Stormont is on me' - Mike Nesbitt resigns as Health Minister in scathing letter to UUP leader Jon Burrows

Hundreds of people attended a public meeting in Coleraine Town Hall on August 13, jointly hosted by UNISON and Causeway SOS campaign group.

The meeting was held to discuss the future of emergency general surgery (EGS) at Causeway Hospital, following the removal of consultant-led maternity services from Coleraine to Antrim Area Hospital.

While the Health Minister Nesbitt was unable to attend, his party leader Mr Burrows told the meeting that he did not agree with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust’s recommendation to remove EGS from Causeway – a move which would require a ‘sign off’ from the Health Minister, the UUP’s Mike Nesbitt.

Mr Burrows said at the meeting: “I do not agree with it and I will never agree with it. I cannot get any clearer than that.

“Emergency surgery must remain at the Causeway Hospital and it should be built up, not run down and that is my position and it's not for negotiation”.

Campaign group SoS Causeway Hospital shared Mr Burrows’s speech, commenting: “When a party leader publicly draws the line, it gives a minister the essential political backing to push back against trust recommendations and align departmental actions directly with evidence and public consultation”.

Mr Nesbitt resigned on Tuesday, August 18 and, in a hard-hitting resignation letter, said he was not going to be a minister who learned about his party leader’s views on key issues through the media.

He wrote: "Firstly, thank you again for agreeing to accept the invitation to become a co-opted MLA for North Antrim, following Robin Swann's election to the House of Commons and the subsequent resignation of Colin Crawford as his original replacement at Stormont.

"Colin's decision brought on a timebound crisis, with the ultimate consequence of the seat being lost to the Party, had I not identified a successor," he said.

"Bringing you into Stormont is on me, as is my decision to stand down as Party Leader, opening the opportunity for you to mount a successful campaign to take the role.

"Previously, I held the record for the shortest time between becoming an MLA and assuming the leadership, but you proved I was only playing at it. Congratulations! Now, the more difficult part.

"When you became Leader, you informed me, with your hallmark clarity, that when it came to health, you had but one "red line", namely puberty blockers and your opposition to Northern Ireland participating in the Pathways trial.

"I accepted that, even though our engagement with Pathways was the price of securing the Executive's agreement to join GB's ban on blockers, something most observers thought impossible to achieve. Many Executive colleagues will rightly feel betrayed by my U-turn.

"This letter concerns the fact you appear to have introduced a second "red line", regarding Emergency General Surgency at Causeway Hospital.

"I am not the sort of Minister who is happy to discover the Leader's view of issues under my purview by having to monitoring the media. Yesterday, I offered you a way to manage this situation.

"As I have not received a timely response, and given the shock waves you have created in the HSC system, this matter needs resolved.

"Being Minister of Health remains the greatest privilege of my political career. It is, therefore, with no little regret that I have composed this letter of resignation."