To ask the Minister of Health whether his Department has carried out any assessment of the impact on workforce retention and patient outcomes in relation to the lack of progression from band 5 to band 6 for many registered nurses, compared to colleagues in other healthcare professions.

Mr Nesbitt

I acknowledge that that is key, and I do so with pay on the agenda, which is clearly the headline in the court of public opinion. Everybody should have a reasonable expectation of career progression during their time, and the evidence very much suggests that that is not the case for band 5 nurses.

Mr Nesbitt

I share the Member's frustration with the delay in the winter preparedness plan's being published. The fact of the matter is that I saw a draft, and I wanted some work completed on that. I am very optimistic that it will be published this month, that is, October. I am not sure whether I agree with the Member that the delay is having an impact on staff morale. We are way ahead of where we were last year, but are we in the right position? To manage expectations, we are not simply looking at making everything right this winter. That is an overly ambitious position to take. Some proposals that have come out of the big discussions that took place this year may not see the fruits returned this winter, but it is important that we look at short-, medium- and long-term actions that can be taken to relieve those additional winter pressures.

Madam Principal Deputy Speaker

Before I call David Honeyford, I remind Members that their supplementary questions need to be related to their primary questions. They cannot be completely different.