The South Belfast MLA has said: "The Closed Loop System has now been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for people living with Type I diabetes who cannot control their glucose levels, after it was approved for use in Scotland last year. This means the UK is the first country in the world to make this hybrid system, also known as an 'Artificial Pancreas', widely available - yet, as it stands, people in Northern Ireland will not benefit.
"For some people, the system lifts the burden of living with Type I diabetes by maintaining better control of insulin levels and is better than current systems at keeping blood sugar levels within a healthy range. While it will not be for everyone, people with Type I diabetes in Great Britain now have the choice - while people in Northern Ireland do not.
"I would call on the Department of Health to ensure that the new system is made available in Northern Ireland urgently. This is yet another example, however, of where the absence of democratic scrutiny is making Northern Ireland more a place apart not less so, and of why immediate reform of the institutions should be carried out to enable those willing to take the responsibility for governing to do so."