Monthly Archives: April 2013

25 April 2013 Last updated at 13:27 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. The future of residential care services will be discussed by the trust The Northern Health Trust has said it eventually intends to close all the residential homes in its area. In a statement, the trust said it planned to close half of its nine homes in the next three years and, in the longer term, stop providing residential care entirely. The plans are part of a wide-ranging reform of elderly care provision across Northern Ireland. The move has been criticised by local politicians and unions. Unison said Pinewood residential home in Ballymena and Westlands in Cookstown would close in November; Rathmoyle in Moyle would close in January 2014 and the remainder would shut between 2014 and 2018. Unison added the closures would remove any choice for vulnerable people while another union, Unite, described … Continue reading →

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Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect in Northern Ireland, with around 250 babies born with the condition every year, according to the Children’s Heartbeat Trust charity. But, a consultation was launched after the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children’s service was deemed unsustainable due to the numbers of patients it deals with – around 90 per year. The board recommended developing a children’s cardiology centre in Belfast. John Compton, the Chief Executive of the Health and Social Care Board, said: “Our job is to assess a population and say how best should we provide services to that population? “In this context, it is much better, I believe, to build a service round an all Ireland solution. Rather than leave a service which has uncertainty and which has fragility – that I think is irresponsible,” he added. In a statement, the Department of Health confirmed that a working … Continue reading →

The closure of residential care homes can now go ahead because better alternatives are available, the health minister has said. In 2009, Edwin Poots proposed an Assembly motion calling on the then minister for health, Michael McGimpsey, to resist closing the NHS facilities – telling Mr McGimpsey he rejected the assertion there was “no option” to closures. “Let me put that notion to bed; it is inaccurate,” Mr Poots said at the time. “The efficiency savings need to be made in administration, not in the frontline services.” Earlier this week it was announced that the Northern Trust would close around half of its provision within three years and stop providing residential care entirely in the longer term. That announcement was followed by confirmation yesterday that the Southern Trust has already ceased admitting long-term residents to its five NHS homes as part of an overall closure plan. Both the TUV and … Continue reading →