To ask the Minister of Health when the review of cases of the deceased patients of Michael Watt will be completed.

My Department and the RQIA continue to work together to consider all matters to determine the next steps for the Deceased Patients Review (DPR). From the outset it was envisaged that the DPR would be undertaken with a phased approach.

The pace and extent of progress to determine the next steps for the DPR work has been guided by a number of factors such as: the learnings from the work completed to date (including family expectations and experiences, ethical considerations and systems learning); the time requirements for future work; and the resource requirements (including staff and budget requirements).

My Department remains mindful of the delicate nature of this work and intends to provide confirmation regarding the DPR next steps as soon as practicable.