Nesbitt's departure proves politics can't be removed from health

Mike Nesbitt's sudden and somewhat dramatic departure as health minister should come as no surprise.

The move came on Tuesday, amid a clash over withdrawing emergency general surgery services from Causeway Hospital, with the UUP leader Jon Burrows.

In March he told Stormont's health committee that if he ever felt that his party was trying to influence how he did his role he'd rather "walk or resign rather than become some sort of lap dog or functionary for a political party".

Nesbitt has kept to his word.

Burrows' public and contentious intervention on the potential removal of general surgery at Causeway Hospital was, one senior health official source said, "a hell of a slap on the face for Mike Nesbitt".

Burrows has said that the direction Nesbitt set on "reform, on tackling health inequalities and on driving down waiting lists was the right one".

But, he added, when it comes to delivering that reform it must also "address health inequalities and regional imbalance, and recognise that people in different parts of Northern Ireland do not currently enjoy equal access to timely healthcare".

He said "the strength of feeling around Causeway shows what happens when communities feel decisions are arriving rather than being made with them".

Just over two years in the job Nesbitt may not have overly achieved but he was moving the health service in the right direction.

His "shift left" and introduction of a neighbourhood model of care meant people would access more services closer to home.

The intention may have been spot on, but it's not there yet.

While waiting list figures are improving that good news story was always overshadowed by other issues including Nesbitt's very public fall out with General Practice.

And, despite promising to deliver on the minimum wage for health care workers, it didn't happen.

Decisions were also not taken on hospital reconfiguration, palliative care policy and social care continues to struggle.

There were many positive headlines including delivering a Mother and Baby Unit for Northern Ireland, but he admitted that not all the funding was currently available to make it happen.

Nesbitt may not have made sweeping changes but at least the road map was heading in the right direction.

He often said being health minister was "the best job".

But as proven on Tuesday it is also the toughest job where, in this case, politics cannot be taken out of health.

Whoever the next health minister is will be in a caretaker role.

The question is will they be allowed to be their own person?

Or just do what their party leader says.