​‘How would Pat Cullen stand up for nurses when she won’t take her seat as an MP?’

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Erskine – Questions for Pat Cullen & RCN

Deborah Erskine, DUP Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA has said there are legitimate questions to answer for Professor Pat Cullen as last week the Royal College of Nursing published an online video from Pat Cullen urging all general election candidates to ensure that the NHS is not used a “political football”.

Deborah Erskine

Mrs Erskine said,

“Firstly, Pat Cullen doesn’t want the NHS used as a political football but famously told a West Belfast audience last year that the answer to NHS problems was for Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom. Despite my colleague Gregory Campbell asking repeatedly, both the RCN and Pat Cullen declined to put any meat on the bones of this statement or clarify if this was an official RCN position or just empty republican rhetoric.

Secondly, six days ago, the RCN posted a video from Pat Cullen calling on all general election candidates to “earn the nursing vote” and asking all parties to provide voters with their plans going forward. Will the RCN be removing the video which now features an election candidate? However more importantly how does Pat Cullen intend to fight for the health service, as an abstentionist MP?

Thirdly, as a former RCN Chief Executive will Pat Cullen condemn those PIRA terrorists who ran rampage through the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children facilities to try and murder my colleagues Nigel and Diane Dodds. Nurses, doctors and patients were all placed in danger.

Sinn Fein have held the Fermanagh & South Tyrone Westminster seat for 21 of the last 23 years, yet most people in the area would struggle to point to a single achievement for the constituency.

Ms Cullen, I hope, will not be running away from the questions the Fermanagh and South Tyrone electorate have.”