The Belfast and South Eastern health trusts have each consolidated EGS on one site and have completed this part of transformation. But the issue remains unfinished and contentious in the Western, Southern and Northern health trusts.
McKay said surgeons want the best for their patients and when a vacuum is allowed to develop services become fragile.
“For a population of 1.9 million, three centres performing emergency general surgery would be commonplace in other parts of the UK and the world,” he said
It is thought if Northern Ireland had a blank hospital canvas those three sites would be at Altnagelvin, Craigavon and Belfast.
McKay said running too many emergency surgeries on too many sites also had an adverse impact on cancer waiting times.
He said the same surgeons were dealing with EGS and cancer operations, which wasn’t efficient.
“When we attend UK council meetings, surgeons from Northern Ireland are disappointed, even shocked, at just how behind Northern Ireland is compared to the rest of the UK when it comes to how we deliver care – our waiting times especially around cancer are among the worst,” he said.
In the run up to next year’s local election, the surgical associations are warning MLAs to think of the entire health population of Northern Ireland and not just what is happening in their own political patch.