To ask the Minister of Health whether his Department undertook any consultation or impact assessment before deciding to apply elements of the 2023 guidance on rationing healthcare to earlier referrals.

The Effective Use of Resources (EUR) Policy was reviewed and updated in 2021 and sets out referral criteria for a range of procedures. The policy was reviewed and updated to reflect emerging clinical evidence from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and similar bodies, ensuring decisions are based on best practice and fairness.

The SPPG (former HSCB) worked with the Equality Unit to undertake an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) to understand any cumulative impacts of the combined changes. These assessments confirmed that the proposed changes will have only a minor impact on service users. The SPPG (former HSCB) assessed the impact of the proposed changes on rural service users and no significant implications were identified.

The updated criteria were informed by a range of stakeholders including Consultants, Nurses, Trust Managers, GPs, Royal College of Surgeons representatives, Personal and Public Involvement leads, Public Health and HSCB staff.

In addition to this there was a pubic consultation launched in October 2021 and lasted for a period of 13 weeks. The consultation process offered an opportunity for all stakeholders to consider and comment on the proposed service model for the Commissioning Position for Effective Use of Resources for the population of Northern Ireland.