New health minister Robbie Butler will be asked to appear before the Stormont Health Committee next week, officials said on Thursday, as they confirmed no decision has been taken on the future of emergency general surgery at Causeway Hospital.

Butler was appointed by UUP leader Jon Burrows after Mike Nesbitt resigned earlier this week amid a dispute over a proposal to withdraw emergency general surgery from the Coleraine hospital. The Northern Health Trust has indicated it wants emergency general surgery located only at Antrim Area Hospital. The Stormont Health Committee held an emergency meeting on the issue on Thursday.

Permanent secretary Mike Farrar told the committee that no proposals relating to Causeway had been brought to ministers and no decision had been made. Deputy secretary Tracey McCaig said the process is very advanced and almost at a final position, but she would not give a date for a decision.

Farrar said the department has for years been working to ensure general surgery standards across Northern Ireland align with best medical practice and can meet demand and new technology. A review published in 2024 found that current services and their locations did not meet those standards, leading the Northern Trust to carry out a consultation.

Farrar also set out wider pressures facing the health service, including staff pay, the absence of a Stormont budget, and the need to deliver a reset plan. He said the first year of that plan cannot afford delay because losing six months would mean poorer service quality and further strain on finances. He said investment in community and primary care is needed to relieve hospital pressure.

He identified additional issues for the new minister, including commitments to families affected by Muckamore Abbey Hospital and to people involved in the urology inquiry, where work is needed to implement recommendations around safe care.

Butler has not yet commented on the Causeway dispute. He has said he will listen most to people using and running the health service and that decisions will be guided by clinical evidence and confidence in communities across Northern Ireland. The British Medical Association said his first priority should be an above-inflation pay increase for doctors, including a 4% uplift recommended by an independent pay review body and an additional rise on top.

At the committee, SDLP MLA Colin McGrath asked if conversations with the new minister would need to be checked against the party leader's view. Farrar said he would give his best advice and would be prepared to justify it to any party leader who asked.