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Monthly Archives: January 2018
Beggs & UUP colleagues meet NHSCT CEO to discuss health pressures and need for investment
Roy Beggs MLA, together with Party Leader Robin Swann MLA, Steve Aiken MLA & John Stewart MLA met with Dr Tony Stevens Chief Executive of the Northern Health & Social Care Trust (NHSCT) to discuss the current health pressures. Local UUP Councillors Stephen McCarthy and Andrew Wilson also attended. Roy Beggs, UUP Health spokesperson said “From constituents who have contacted me, I am aware of the considerable pressures that health staff have been facing and have been striving to meet the growing healthcare needs of patients. We were advised that with the ageing population, there had been a significant increase in visits to Antrim A&E and also an increase in A&E patients requiring admission to hospital. With a 98% hospital bed occupancy rate achieved at Antrim, which has comparable hospital length of stays, it is evident that the NHSCT could not have coped with the proposed Whiteabbey rehabilitation ward closures … Continue reading
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Ambulance support closure adds to pressure, warns Beggs
The closure of the Red Cross ambulance support service will further increase pressure on the Ambulance Service, according to East Antrim MLA Roy Beggs. The charity said its contracted patient transport service is no longer financially viable and will come to an end in April. More than 20 members of staff will be affected by the move. The decision has led to “anger and upset” among staff, ambulance union GMB has stated. Mr Beggs, UUP health spokesman, said: “The decision has also now heaped further pressure on a local ambulance service which is already close to breaking point. It is no exaggeration to say that many patients would have suffered and would not have received appropriate health care without the backup support from charities such as the Red Cross. “The loss of these additional supporting ambulances and paramedics means that a sparse service will have to be spread even more … Continue reading
Thieves who stole heating oil from children’s unit are despicable: MLA
Whitehaven provides respite stays for children with disabilities By Jonathan Bell January 11 2018 Thieves who took heating oil from a special care unit that provides respite care for disabled children and their parents have been branded despicable. Around 1,500 litres of heating oil worth about £1,000 was taken from the Whitehaven Respite Unit in Whitehead over the new year. It was only discovered when the facility reopened on Monday. “They must have known what the home was, they must have known what they were taking, they can’t have known the very real distress and disruption caused to disabled children,” Roy Beggs MLA said. Staff said five children were set to stay the night and when they were told they couldn’t some became very distressed. Mr Beggs added: “Theft is wrong, but it is all the more despicable when it’s from a home which provides such a vital service for … Continue reading
Northern Ireland respite facility for disabled children closed temporarily after thieves take heating oil
Police have appealed for information after thieves stole heating oil from a respite home for children with disabilities in County Antrim. By Jonathan Bell January 10 2018 Thieves who took heating oil from a special care unit which provides respite to disabled children and their parents were branded despicable. “They must have known what the home was, they must have known what they were taking, they can’t have known the very real distress and disruption caused to disabled children,” MLA Roy Beggs told the Belfast Telegraph. Around 1,500litres valued around £1,000 of home heating oil was taken from the Whitehaven Respite Unit in Whitehead over the new year period. It was only discovered when the facility re-opened on Monday. Staff said five children were set to stay the night in the facility and were very excited and when they were told they couldn’t some became very distressed. MLA Roy Beggs … Continue reading
Further blow to ambulance services in Northern Ireland
Ulster Unionist Health Spokesperson Roy Beggs MLA has warned that the decision by the Red Cross to withdraw their local ambulance service will only increase pressure on the NI Ambulance Service’s already dangerously stretched paramedics. Roy Beggs said: “The British Red Cross, along with other charities such as St John’s Ambulance, have for some time been playing an important role in assisting the safe and timely operation of local ambulance services. “This includes carrying out non-emergency ambulance transfers and stepping up to assist local hospitals at times of peak demand, including over the recent Christmas period. They have played an absolutely essential role over recent times in helping to alleviate some of the pressure on the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS). “The decision by the Red Cross to withdraw from the contracted Ambulance Support work they undertake by the 30 April 2018 is worrying on two fronts. “It no doubt … Continue reading
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