'To lose two leaders is careless' - Wilde takes on Nesbitt v Burrows

A dramatic evening exit and a vacant position as Stormont's health minister - the resignation of Mike Nesbitt has provided no shortage of political reaction.

The move came on Tuesday, amid a clash over withdrawing emergency general surgery services from Causeway Hospital, with the UUP leader Jon Burrows.

BBC News NI's Political and Health Correspondents Gareth Gordon and Marie-Louise Connolly provide some analysis on how it all played out and what's next.

With apologies to Oscar Wilde, to lose one former party leader is unfortunate to lose two is careless.

Wilde also said: "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken".

Jon Burrows is certainly being himself but at what cost to his party or indeed in this case the health service.

It's difficult to think of another Stormont resignation quite like Mike Nesbitt's.

It's probable no other party would have let things get to this point.

But the Ulster Unionists under Burrows is the old party on steroids.

We've already seen the resignation of one former leader, Doug Beattie, and another Mike Nesbitt - as minister anyway.

The rank and file don't seem to care. The party for the first time in decades is ahead of the DUP in the polls.

A DUP significantly weakened by the Jeffrey Donaldson fall out, after his conviction for child sex offences, and the news this week the Strangford MP Jim Shannon could be facing prosecution for common assault of a woman (to which his lawyer has said a defence statement has been lodged).

Right on cue comes an Ulster Unionist drama to make everyone forget about the DUP.

To (mis) quote Oscar Wilde again it's all about "The Importance of Being Burrows".

It's the nearest thing to peak theatre Stormont has produced in years.

When it comes to the health portfolio, Mike Nesbitt's sudden and somewhat dramatic departure should come as no surprise.

In March he told Stormont's health committee that if he ever felt that his party was trying to influence how he did his role he'd rather "walk or resign rather than become some sort of lap dog or functionary for a political party".

Nesbitt has kept to his word.

Burrows' public and contentious intervention on the potential removal of general surgery at Causeway Hospital was, one senior health official source said, "a hell of a slap on the face for Mike Nesbitt".

Burrows has said that "the strength of feeling around Causeway shows what happens when communities feel decisions are arriving rather than being made with them".

Just over two years in the job Nesbitt may not have overly achieved but he was moving the health service in the right direction.

His "shift left" and introduction of a neighbourhood model of care meant people would access more services closer to home.

The intention may have been spot on, but it's not there yet.

While waiting list figures are improving that good news story was always overshadowed by other issues including Nesbitt's very public fall out with General Practice.

And, despite promising to deliver on the minimum wage for health care workers, it didn't happen.

Decisions were also not taken on hospital reconfiguration, palliative care policy and social care continues to struggle.

There were many positive headlines including delivering a Mother and Baby Unit for Northern Ireland, but he admitted that not all the funding was currently available to make it happen.

Nesbitt may not have made sweeping changes but at least the road map was heading in the right direction.

He often said being health minister was "the best job".

But as proven on Tuesday it is also the toughest job where, in this case, politics cannot be taken out of health.

Whoever the next health minister is will be in a caretaker role.

The question is will they be allowed to be their own person?

Or just do what their party leader says.