Health and Social Care.
It is clear that our health service has been a victim of chronic under-resourcing for a number of years, as a result of the Tory-led austerity and a lack of decisive and courageous leadership to implement strategic review after review. From hospitals to community care, there has been no commitment to a strategic and properly resourced vision of how our health service will care for an expanding and ageing population.
Our waiting lists are growing, leading to distress for individuals and their families. People in the North are at least 48 times as likely to wait more than a year for care as the closest waiting time in Britain. One in four people here are on a waiting list. Waiting lists in each individual Trust area here in the North are longer than the entirety of waiting lists in England. It is clear our health service needs to transform to meet the needs of the people.
In Northern Ireland today more than 200,000 people suffer as a result of poor mental health, with almost 50% of these cases related to the conflict. SDLP Youth believes in parity of esteem for mental health services and that these services need to be properly resourced. We must secure an appropriate, community based provision which addresses both the trauma imparted by the conflict and other areas of mental ill health such as eating disorders. It is crucial we instill knowledge and tools in our young people, from childhood, to ensure they are resilient with strong mental wellbeing. SDLP Youth supports enhanced dual diagnosis and services for those suffering from mental ill health and addiction, particularly for under 18’s.
Please find Period Poverty consultation document here.
Our General Health and Social Care Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
the concentration of specialist services within hospitals in order to provide a higher standard of efficiency and care.
diversification of hospital and healthcare reform to provide wider access to respite and community care for the elderly and for those recovering from medical treatment.
the return of nursing bursaries and opposition to efforts to implement changes to junior doctors contracts that would be medically unsafe and exploitative of junior doctors.
better provision of cross-border health co-operation in order to make health services more efficient, to improve emergency services, especially around the border regions.
the introduction of a social democratic, state-based healthcare system in the Republic.
opposition to the co-location of public and private healthcare with Health Trust property.
greater financial investment for research into Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
the Minister for Health to introduce legislation to lower the minimum age for requesting or recommending the cervical cancer screen test.
provisions to be made to offer doctors, nurses and other medical staff the opportunity to take training courses in administrative work to prepare them for a career in the civil service side of the health care service.
the Northern Ireland Department of Health to develop a Hepatitis C elimination strategy. Including proactively screening at risk sections of the population, an integrated approach among health workers and social workers, with addiction services and pharmacies and that this strategy should review the potential of carrying out hepatitis blood tests alongside other tests being carried out.
Our Lifestyle Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
agricultural subsidies to be reformed to provide subsidisation for healthy food.
greater provision for sports clubs and Home Economics for children to encourage healthy lifestyles.
a ban on smoking in cars whilst children are present. SDLP Youth welcomes the news Health Minister Robin Swann plans to see this through after the last attempt stalled when the Assembly collapsed in January 2017.
the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Oireachtas and the Westminster Government to bring in appropriate regulations on the production of e-cigarettes and to ban the use of e-cigarettes in all public buildings.
Our Mental Health Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
greater funding to be provided for mental health facilities.
improved education and public awareness about the causes and effects of mental health, to challenge the stigmas against those struggling with mental health and greater social support for those struggling with mental health.
enhanced dual diagnosis and services for those suffering from mental ill health and addiction, particularly for under 18’s.
Our Drugs and Addiction Policies.
SDLP Youth is campaigning for:
a refocus of government drug policy towards rehabilitation and prevention, rather than criminalisation, including the introduction of Supervised Injection Centre.
professional help to be made readily available to all those in need of help in tackling addiction and therefore calls for the establishment of ‘detox units’ across Northern Ireland, with the aim to establish at least one ‘detox unit’ in every Council area.
the creation of supervised injection centres, as are currently being implemented in the Republic of Ireland, as a method of substance abuse rehabilitation.
exploration into how a Portuguese-style model of drug policy could be implemented in Northern Ireland.
the legalisation of cannabis for medical use.
the legalisation of the purchase of marijuana, solely from established institutions under government regulation, with taxation from these venues being used to fund rehabilitation and health programmes.
a new law that will ensure that businesses involved in multiple cases of knowingly providing dangerous legal highs will be held legally responsible.
