Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows has said he will name the party's new Stormont health minister on Thursday, a day after Mike Nesbitt resigned from the post following a clash over hospital services in Coleraine.

Speaking at a press conference at Stormont on Wednesday, Burrows said he would make a decision on Nesbitt's successor "overnight" and confirm the appointment within 24 hours. "Within 24 hours you'll know who the next health minister is going to be," he told reporters.

The announcement follows Nesbitt's resignation on Tuesday, which came amid an increasingly public dispute within the Ulster Unionist Party over the future of emergency general surgery at Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, near Burrows' North Antrim constituency.

A resignation over 'red lines'

Nesbitt, who had served as Health Minister since 2024 and previously led the UUP twice, said he resigned because he was not prepared to be a minister who learned about his party leader's views on key issues through the media. In his resignation letter, posted on X, Nesbitt said Burrows had initially set one 'red line' on puberty blockers and opposition to the Pathways trial but had since "introduced a second red line" regarding the emergency general surgery (EGS) provision at Causeway.

Nesbitt said he discovered Burrows' position on the surgery through media monitoring and that he had offered the party leader a way to manage the situation earlier in the week. "Yesterday, I offered you a way to manage this situation. As I have not received a timely response, and given the shockwaves you have created in the HSC system, this matter needs resolved," the letter read.

The policy dispute

The row centres on the proposed withdrawal of emergency general surgery from Causeway Hospital, a move that has caused local controversy. Burrows attended a town hall meeting in Coleraine last week where he opposed the withdrawal, telling the gathering that "emergency surgery must remain at the Causeway Hospital and it should be built up, not run down."

Burrows justified his opposition by saying the local community had not been properly consulted. He rejected suggestions that Nesbitt was unaware of his view, claiming: "Mike was aware of my attendance at that (town hall meeting), he was aware that I was opposed to the proposals."

At the time of his resignation, Nesbitt had not yet confirmed whether he was going to push ahead with the withdrawal proposal.

Burrows defends his position

Speaking on Wednesday, Burrows said he was "disappointed" that Nesbitt had resigned but insisted he had been "still prepared to work with Mike." He defended his record since taking over the UUP leadership in January, maintaining he has a "coherent team" and support across the party, and declined to rule himself out of contention for the health portfolio.

"I'm not going down a rabbit hole here of talking about who's going to be the next health minister," he said, adding that he would make a "weighed-up decision swiftly, but not hastily, in the best interest of people in Northern Ireland."

Burrows acknowledged the need for reform in the health service but said he was not opposed to it in principle. "Because a proposal has the label reform doesn't make the proposal correct," he said.

An emergency meeting of the Assembly's Health Committee has been convened for Thursday, where senior Department of Health officials will face questions from MLAs.

Reactions from across the political spectrum

The resignation has drawn reactions from political leaders across Northern Ireland. First Minister Michelle O'Neill said she was "genuinely sorry" to see Nesbitt resign, describing him as having "played a constructive and mature part in the Executive and was making welcome progress in reducing waiting lists."

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly thanked Nesbitt for his "positive engagement on a range of issues, particularly on health waiting lists," while Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant said it was "vital for patients across Northern Ireland that this work continues without interruption."

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said Nesbitt had "served Northern Ireland well" and described his departure as "a setback for health." Robinson encouraged Burrows to "nominate as quickly as possible," adding that if the UUP could not come to an agreement, "then I will nominate."

Sinn Féin MLA and Assembly Health Committee chair Philip McGuigan suggested Burrows was overstepping the line by imposing 'red lines' on his party's Executive minister, accusing him of prioritising the "narrow political interests of the Ulster Unionist Party" above the interests of staff and patients. "What has happened is certainly not good news for our health service," McGuigan said.

SDLP leader Matthew O'Toole said it would have been "much better" if Nesbitt and Burrows "had thrashed some of this out in private," adding that the events of the past 24 hours had been "a complete and utter shambles."