THE crisis in the health service is normally described in terms of lengthy waiting lists, overcrowded emergency departments and the scaling down of some hospital services in Newry and Enniskillen. The solution to most of these challenges is usually identified as additional funding.

However, despite being allocated more money, health minister Mike Nesbitt claims his department is still under-resourced. While he is currently in negotiations with health unions to try to address their demand for salary increases, he now faces two additional and hitherto under-reported needs for extra funding.

The first comes from GPs. The chair of the British Medical Association’s NI General Practitioners Committee, Dr Frances O’Hagan, recently........

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