Nesbitt Resigns as Health Minister, UUP to Name Replacement

Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows announced he will name a new Stormont health minister on Thursday, August 20, following the abrupt resignation of Mike Nesbitt amid a public dispute over the future of emergency surgery at a County Londonderry hospital.

Nesbitt resigned on Tuesday, August 18, after Burrows publicly stated his opposition to a health trust plan to withdraw emergency general surgery from Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. The former minister's scathing resignation letter, posted on social media, accused Burrows of introducing unexpected "red lines" on health policy and said he would not be a minister who learns of his party leader's views "through the media."

The conflict escalated after a town hall meeting in Coleraine on August 13. There, Burrows told attendees he did not agree with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust's recommendation to remove the services, a move that would require ministerial sign-off. Nesbitt's letter indicated he offered Burrows a way to manage the situation on Monday, August 17, but did not receive a timely response. He cited the "shockwaves" the issue had created in the health system as a factor in his decision to step down.