A new health minister for Northern Ireland is expected to be announced later following the resignation of Ulster Unionist Mike Nesbitt from the post.
Nesbitt announced he was stepping down on Tuesday night amid a row with his party leader Jon Burrows.
It followed a clash over withdrawing emergency general surgery services from Causeway Hospital, where Nesbitt said the party leader had “introduced a second red line”.
An emergency meeting of Stormont’s health committee is also due to take place on Thursday to discuss the fall out from Nesbitt’s resignation.
On Tuesday night, Nesbitt said his time as health minster had been “the greatest privilege of his political career”.
Burrows said he was “disappointed” Nesbitt had quit but pledged his replacement in the Stormont executive job would “get going with gusto”.
He said he would make a decision “overnight” and confirm on Thursday who would replace Nesbitt but refused to rule himself out for the position.
On Wednesday, officials in the health service voiced their support for Nesbitt, saying he had “offered strong political leadership” and had “listened to clinical leaders”.
They included the Royal College of Surgeons, NI Confederation for Health and Social Care, the British Medical Association.
Stormont’s health committee will convene later with departmental officials, including the department’s permanent secretary, following a request from committee’s chair, Sinn Fein MLA Philip McGuigan.
McGuigan said the committee needed to know what decisions had to be made by any incoming minister.
“We have seven months left of this mandate, we have important decisions that need made and important legislation coming before us,” he said.
“So we need to be assured that internal wranglings within the UUP aren’t going to impact patient safety, patient care across the north and the work that our staff are doing to provide excellent care for our citizens.”
Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson said if the UUP decided not to nominate a health minister, his party – as the next entitled to nominate under the current rules – would do so.
Robinson said Nesbitt’s resignation was a “setback” for the “confidence that people have” in the health service.
Robinson called on Burrows to nominate a replacement “as quickly as possible”, adding: “I don’t think it is helpful or fruitful for there to be this hiatus within health.”