Allister presses Northern Trust on Causeway Hospital
09 January 2012
TUV Leader and North Antrim MLA Jim Allister today met with the Chief Executive of the Northern Trust to discuss the Compton Health review, and in particular the future of The Causeway Hospital.
In a statement Mr Allister said:
"Following on from the concerns which I expressed on the day the Compton Report was published, most of my meeting with Mr Donaghy focussed on the Causeway Hospital, which provides vital hospital services for much of North Antrim and East Londonderry. In calling for the Trust to fight tenaciously to retain full acute services at Coleraine, I expressed the fear that services were being run down as a prelude to downgrading. In particular, I challenged why so many unfilled consultant posts existed at the Causeway, with huge reliance on locums, all of which is suggestive of undermining longterm commitment to retention of it as a major acute hospital.
"The Causeway is vital to adequately meeting the needs of all of north east Northern Ireland. Compton - with its ambition for as few as 5 major hospitals for all of Northern Ireland -anticipates its removal as a full acute facility. I left the Chief Executive in no doubt that such would be unacceptable and that this large swathe of the north of the Province must not be denuded of acute services.
"I will be observing with interest just how proactive the Northern Trust is in retaining this vital service. The DUP Minister may wish to rob Ballymoney, Coleraine and the north coast of its present level of hospital service, but the local people, I believe, are equally determined that he will not succeed."
