Health minister instructs trusts to pause cuts to Phone First service

The health minister has told five Northern Irish health trusts to suspend planned reductions to their Phone First telephone triage services, BBC News NI reported.

The Belfast Trust said its decision to stop its Phone First was taken "in the context of the very significant financial challenge" it and the wider health service was facing. It added "other care options are still available" and pointed patients to its Choose the Right Care webpage for urgent but non‑life‑threatening illness or injury.

The Western Trust said its Phone First service was being "assessed against current spend and affordability" as part of its savings plan, and a spokesperson added, "No decision has been made at this time and the service continues to operate as normal." The South Eastern Trust said its Phone First service at both the Lagan Valley and Downe hospitals "will remain unchanged" and noted that Phone First is "not required" at the Ulster Hospital because its Urgent Care Centre directs patients "to the most appropriate service when they arrive". A spokesman for the Southern Trust told BBC News NI it has no plans to withdraw Phone First.