Northern Ireland's health minister has been forced to defend his position after calls for his resignation over problems at Belfast's main hospital.
Ulster Unionist MLA Basil McCrea called for Edwin Poots to go during an Assembly debate on the accident and emrgency services at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
Mr. McCrea told Mr. Poots "it's your head that should roll."
John McCallister, who proposed the motion, said the system "clearly isn't fit for purpose".
The debate followed the recent death of an elderly man on a trolley in the Royal. The hospital has been under pressure since the closure of the City Hospital's emergency department.
During the debate Sinn Féin MLA Sue Ramsey spoke about an unannounced visit she had made to the Royal Victoria.
"I saw at first hand the pressure not just the staff are under. I saw the pressure the patients are under and the patients' families," she said.
The SDLP's Mark Durkan said the A & E at the Royal was not working and needs to be fixed.
He also made reference to the elderly man whose death went unnoticed as he lay on a trolley awaiting transfer to the City Hospital.
In response. Minister Poots praised what he called "a very sensible motion."
He said the A & E at the City Hospital in Belfast had to close because of a lack of consultants and registrars.
"Action had to be taken," he said.
He acknowledged that there was a need for "substantial change" and this included considering the matter of discharges and discouraging people
going to A & E when they did not need to.
