Kieran McCarthy MLA said: “Prevention is better than cure. We should be spending all the money that is available for health promotion and disease prevention because these are such important issues and strong progress in this area can be of great benefit to our health system. I am very concerned that 52% less was spend in this area by Health and Social Care Trusts in 2009/10 than was planned.
“I raised the issue at the Health Committee yesterday and I sincerely hope that in future all money allocated to this area will be spent.
“Prevention is a key way to help save money in our health service while still meeting the needs of the population. We are facing very difficult times in relation to our public finances and it is vital that we use every means possible to deliver long-term value for money in our health service, and prevention measures are a key component of this type of long-term strategy.”
ENDS