To ask the Minister of Health to detail any contingency measures in place following the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust’s decision to stand down new and review appointments within the Psychiatry of Old Age Service due to staffing concerns.

I am aware of the Belfast Trust’s decision to temporarily stand down some of the routine appointments within the Psychiatry of Old Age (POA) Service as a result of significant and unforeseen staffing pressures. The Trust Care of Elderly Team continues to accommodate all new and review appointments which includes some memory assessment work.

The Belfast Trust has put in place a number of contingency measures.

The service remains operational for all urgent cases including for patients requiring immediate assessment or intervention. This includes prioritising medical cover arrangements for patients who are detained under the Mental Health Order within the hospital setting.

POA nurses, social workers, psychologists, and community mental health staff continue to provide ongoing management, monitoring, and followup for existing service users.

Targeted recruitment, retention measures, and the use of locum and agency staff are being progressed at pace to restore full service capacity as quickly as possible.

Support from within existing teams is being used to stabilise the service with the of utilisation of additional programmed activities and a retired nurse has been secured to support the hospital liaison service.

The Trust is maintaining direct communication with primary care to ensure any patient presenting with deterioration, safeguarding concerns, or increased risk can be escalated rapidly.

The Trust is working with other HSC Trusts to explore shortterm crossboundary support and to ensure that regional service resilience is maintained.

My Department continues to engage closely with the Belfast Trust regarding the restoration of the full POA service and to ensure that appropriate clinical safeguards remain in place throughout this period.