Mike Nesbitt

Ciaran Mulgrew will leave his role on Friday as the health minister says a fresh start is required.

DUP assembly member Diane Dodds says it is "10 years too late and double the cost".

The health minister says he is " far from finished" on the matter.

The Sinn Féin deputy leader says no-one should have to put a sticker on their door to identify their ethnicity.

A report has detailed a culture of poor behaviour by some heart surgeons at NI's cardiac surgery unit.

Funding for the new posts comes from reducing spending on locum doctors in emergency departments.

Mike Nesbitt said it is inevitable that he would be told the Department of Health could not afford it.

The health minister says the money had been hard to source and the time for "discussions is over".