Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows has said he will make a decision "overnight" and confirm on Thursday who will replace Mike Nesbitt as health minister.

It comes after Nesbitt resigned amid a row with Jon Burrows.

The decision came following a clash over withdrawing emergency general surgery services from Causeway Hospital where Nesbitt said the party leader had "introduced a second red line".

Burrows said he was "disappointed" Nesbitt had quit but pledged his replacement in the Stormont executive job would "get going with gusto".

Speaking at a press conference at Stormont, Burrows said: "I was still prepared to work with Mike. He's taken a view that he's going to stand down. I now need to look to the future and get the best possible health minister."

He defended his record since taking on the role of UUP leader, insisting he has as a "coherent team" and "support right across the Ulster Unionist Party".

Nesbitt served twice as leader of the party, first from 2012 until 2017 and again from 2024 until earlier this year when Burrows took over.

Burrows thanked him for his service, adding that he now needed to look at the future.

He said there was a "difference between being swift and being hasty" as he defended being unable to yet announce Nesbitt's successor following his resignation.

"As I listened to the evidence around the Causeway it became clear to me that the evidence base was not made out."

Burrows refused to talk about possible new ministers but said he would "make that decision overnight" and, was asked if he has ruled himself out for the health brief, which he refused to do.

"You will find out like every other journalist and the public when we announce who the new health minister will be. I'm not going to speculate," he answered.

He said that Nesbitt had "served with compassion and with dignity" and that he is willing to speak to him "one on one".

The UUP leader said his party was one that is "going through change".

"I said that on day one, things are going to change, we need to reconnect with the public."

"This place has failed to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland," he said, adding: "We need a circuit break in our politics."

"The relentless focus of my party and the health minister will be in slashing the access times to the NHS," he said.

Burrows added that his party would have "absolute rigorous focus on faster access" to healthcare services.

While refusing to be drawn on who would take on the role, Burrows said his remarks were not about "auditioning myself to be health minister".

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Burrows said he was "not opposed to reform of the health service" but added: "Because a proposal has the label reform doesn't make the proposal correct."

Another ex-leader Doug Beattie quit the UUP in May, lashing out at Burrows' leadership.

It is unclear whether Nesbitt will follow suit and quit the party as well as resigning his ministry.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson said Nesbitt had "served Northern Ireland well".

"I think the circumstances of his departure are [a] setback for health and the Department of Health and the confidence people have within our health service," he added.

He encouraged Burrows to "nominate as quickly as possible" and said he did not think it was "helpful or fruitful for there to be this hiatus within health".

"I will say very clearly also that if the Ulster Unionist Party are in a position where they cannot nominate or they cannot find agreement on a candidate to nominate amongst their number, then I will nominate," he said.

Stormont's leader of the opposition, Matthew O'Toole of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, also wished Nesbitt well, but he said it would have been "much better" if the former health minister and Jon Burrows "had thrashed some of this out in private".

"The events of the past 12 to 24 hours have frankly been shambolic," he added.

Last week Burrows, who is a North Antrim MLA, told a town hall meeting that he did not support emergency general surgery (EGS) being moved from Causeway Hospital.

The Northern Health Trust previously recommended that EGS should only be provided at one of its hospital sites. The service would move to Antrim.

It is understood the Department of Health (DoH) was still waiting for a final recommendation to come to the minister.

Nesbitt was unable to attend last week's meeting due to a constituency election meeting in Strangford and Burrows attended in his place, where he voiced opposition to the closure of the EGS service.

Last week he said he did not agree with that and would "never agree with it".

"Emergency surgery must remain at the Causeway Hospital and it should be built up, not run down and that is my position and it's not for negotiation."

However, he stopped short of saying whether or not he would direct Nesbitt not to sign off on the move.

In his resignation letter, Nesbitt said that when Burrows became party leader, he told him his "one 'red line'" was puberty blockers and his "opposition to Northern Ireland participating in the Pathways trial".

In a copy of the letter he sent to Burrows, posted on social media, Nesbitt said the party leader had now "introduced a second red line" regarding the EGS at Causeway Hospital.

Nesbitt said he had discovered Burrows' view of "issues under [his] purview" by "monitoring the media".

"Yesterday, I offered you a way to manage this situation. As I have not received a timely response and given the shock waves you have created in the HSC system, this matter needs resolved," he said.