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20/03/2013
Still No Decision On NI Child Cardiac Service
No decision has yet been made over the future of children’s cardiac services in Northern Ireland.
The service has been in jeopardy since a UK review found that while it is safe, it is not sustainable.
A decision on its future was initially expected in February but has yet been made.
Speaking to the Northern Ireland assembly’s health committee, health minister Edwin Poots said that the fact that the department had gone back to the drawing board should give parents some hope.
"At the end of February what was being suggested to me is something that neither the committee would find acceptable, nor the community would find acceptable and certainly I would not find acceptable, so clearly there is more needed to be done until we find a place that is acceptable," he said.
Adding: "So the fact that we haven't reached a decision is positive in that sense, because, if we had come to a decision on the basis of the recommendation, it would have been something which would have caused huge consternation."
(H)
The service has been in jeopardy since a UK review found that while it is safe, it is not sustainable.
A decision on its future was initially expected in February but has yet been made.
Speaking to the Northern Ireland assembly’s health committee, health minister Edwin Poots said that the fact that the department had gone back to the drawing board should give parents some hope.
"At the end of February what was being suggested to me is something that neither the committee would find acceptable, nor the community would find acceptable and certainly I would not find acceptable, so clearly there is more needed to be done until we find a place that is acceptable," he said.
Adding: "So the fact that we haven't reached a decision is positive in that sense, because, if we had come to a decision on the basis of the recommendation, it would have been something which would have caused huge consternation."
(H)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A cloudy day with a little light rain or drizzle at times, but some spells of drier weather too. The north coast may become somewhat brighter later this afternoon. Maximum temperature 11 °C.Tonight:Cloudy and patchy light rain will slowly clear away this evening. Then the rest of the night will be dry with broken cloud. Westerly winds freshening in the early hours. Minimum temperature 6 °C.
