by Caoimhe Hegarty
The loss of around 30 staff from the Mid Ulster Hospital site in Magherafelt is just one of the many proposals put forward by The Northern Health and Social Care Trust to reduce £13m from its budget.
The Five Health Trusts in Northern Ireland have been told by the Department of Health that they must implement savings of a total of £70m before the end of 2017/2018 financial year.
The proposals have now been unveiled to the public as part of a six-week consultation following ‘extraordinary meetings’ held on Thursday.
A summary of the major proposals, proposed by the Northern Health and Social Care Trusts includes, reducing expenditure on high-cost medical locum and agency nursing staff, ward closures and bed closures, reduction of non-urgent elective day surgery and a reduction in the number of community-based rehabilitation beds.
Other proposals set out by the trust are, ceasing domiciliary care meals provision, reducing the use of private ambulances and increase in parking charges for visitors.
However the County Derry Post understands that locally, these proposals could mean that around 30 staff members currently based at the Magherafelt-based hospital, known to many as ‘The Mid,’ will be transferred elsewhere.
Non-urgent surgery services could also be closed as part of the proposals.
While the Trust has stressed that these proposals would only be ‘temporary,’ local SDLP MLA, Patsy McGlone, said that his party is opposed to the proposals. “It is clear from the cuts under discussion by the Northern Health Trust that, once again, it is rural communities, particularly those west of the Bann, that will be hardest hit by these proposals,” he said.
He added: “Rural health services are already under severe pressure and waiting lists continue to grow across the north. I am deeply concerned that these cuts are to target domiciliary care delivery too. Aside from the fact that at present it can be very difficult to get adequate care packages in place, any further delays in delivery of care packages can only put further strains on the Health Service and families, including delays in discharge from hospital leading to inevitable ‘bed blocking,’” said Mr McGlone.
Concluding he said: “The SDLP opposes these proposals.”
Meanwhile, chairman of local lobby-group, ‘Save the Mid,’ Hugh McCloy said: “Mid Ulster Hospital will again face cuts so that services in other areas of the trust that are under staffed and unsafe will be saved, namely in Antrim Hospital. This has already happened in the past with our Acute Maternity, Acute Inpatients, Acute A&E and Acute Surgery.
“At least 30 staff at Mid Ulster hospital will be moved to Antrim Hospital as part an alleged temporary move- this alleged temporary move is part and parcel of the Health and Wellbeing Vision as laid out by non other than Mid Ulster MLA Michelle O'Neill during her short term as Health Minister. It is notable that some of the worst performances in health occurred during her short term and rather than deal with the issues in the here and now, a ten year vision was laid out. My personal feeling is that a ten year plan was laid out so that she would not be in office when the cuts came, however the collapse of Stormont came first and Mid Ulster people have once again fallen on the sword of a Health Minister,” he said.
Continuing Mr McCloy added: “At what point do we stop calling what is left in Mid Ulster Hospital a hospital and start calling it what it is Mid Ulster Health Centre? It is a shocking shame that we are the generation that let this happen. It will for ever be our shame for future generation to come if we let this once fully acute hospital become nothing more than a glorified health centre.”
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