Students Question Health Minister

Students from South Eastern Regional College were given the opportunity to question Health Minister Mike Nesbitt MLA, following an invitation to the College’s Newtownards Campus on Friday 15 November 2024.

Minister Mike Nesbitt MLA and colleagues, Katie Renick, Deputy Chief Nurse and Donna Gallagher, Project Lead Widening Access, from the Department for Health and Social Services, spent over an hour with students from the Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care course who had pre-prepared some challenging questions for the visit.

SERC’s Curriculum Manager for Health and Social Care, Nikki Rainey said, “We were delighted to have the Minister visit and take questions from the Year 2 Health students on a range of current health care issues.   The visit is part of the students’ Research module which will be examined in January.”  

She added, “Many of these students will progress to different specialisms in nursing, so they do have a vested interest in working conditions in the health sector by the time they qualify.   They appreciated the Minister’s candour when they broached issues such as nurses pay, waiting lists and access to hospitals; and they got a real insight into the challenges both for the sector and the Health Minister on a day-to-day basis and at a strategic level.”

The Minister wished the students every success with their studies. He spoke about the 70 different pathways for nursing and encouraged them to find out about the opportunities for careers and progression through their local hospitals.”

Find out more about Health and Care courses at SERC.