Causeway Hospital a sign of Executive’s “commitment to health”

The new Causeway Hospital is a visible sign that health is a major priority for the Northern Ireland Executive, the First Minister David Trimble and Deputy First Minister Mark Durkan, have said.

Speaking at the official opening of the £55 million hospital Mr Trimble said: “The building of this new Causeway Hospital represents one of the biggest single investments in healthcare in Northern Ireland and underlines the commitment of the Executive to provide the highest quality hospital services.”

At the launch on Friday April 12 Mr Durkan said the Executive had consistently prioritised health through its Programme for Government and was committed to working with the Minister for Health, Bairbre de Brún, to improve the health of people across Northern Ireland.

Mr Durkan added: “We want to raise health standards to match those of the best regions in Europe, eradicating inequality in health. After years of under-investment, this building provides an example of substantial improvements that can be made for the health of future generations.”

All acute hospital services in the Causeway Trust area are now provided on the new Causeway Hospital site. The Hospital serves a population of around 100,000 people in the Coleraine, Ballymoney and Moyle areas, as well as students at the University of Ulster.

However, Ulster Unionist Assembly members James Leslie and David McClarty have warned that an urgent review of funding was vital to ensure the Hospital could overcome ongoing difficulties in securing specialised staff and maintaining services.

James Leslie, assembly member for North Antrim expressed his concern that because of restricted funding, the new hospital could become unable to maintain a level of services to safeguard its future.

East Londonderry assembly member David McClarty added that the general public and Trust Board had become frustrated over the way service delivery was being impeded.

He said: "There must be much more commitment form the Department of Health in all aspects of funding. There is immense pride among people in this area that their long running battle to secure a new hospital was successful but what angers them is the continual frustration caused by inadequate investment in services."

(MB)