Dallat hopeful of better times for Causeway

In his reply Health Minister Jim Wells said that the “Northern Trust’s model for services in Causeway and the Glens area is based around an acute hospital in Coleraine with an Emergency Department and supporting clinical services, a well-developed intermediate care service and community teams evenly distributed across the area.”

Mr Wells added: “In January, the Trust made a number of new, clinical appointments for the Causeway Hospital. The permanent appointments include consultants in surgery, gastroenterology, respiratory, obstetrics and gynaecology and a consultant physician in internal medicine. A joint post with Altnagelvin Hospital, that of a consultant cardiologist, is also in the process of being recruited. The Trust is also recruiting a further three posts; Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Consultant Physician in General Medicine/Care of the Elderly and Consultant Physician with an interest in respiratory medicine and these remain in process.

“The Trust views the hospital as a key asset in delivering integrated services, not just in the Causeway and Glens area but also further afield.”

Mr Dallat said ‘The last paragraph gives me encouragement that there are now genuine efforts to attract work from outside thehospital catchment area leading to specialisation, sustainability and a fresh opportunity to begin thinking about capital investment which hasn’t happened since the hospital was opened in 2001.”