Ulster Unionist Party representative for East Antrim, Roy Beggs MLA has raised concerns about the re-location of further specialist services away from the Moyle Hospital site, Larne.
Roy Beggs MLA who had been approached by a constituent about the further loss of outpatient services from Larne said, “There seems to be a continual loss of local services from the Moyle Hospital site. This is resulting in many patients having to travel further. The Health Ministers’ flagship policy, Transforming Your Care was supposed to be about providing more appropriate services locally. However, in the case of the Moyle Hospital, a number of outpatient services have been reduced and instead, patients are having travel further.
Roy Beggs MLA asked the Minister “to detail the outpatient specialities for which consultations are currently held at Moyle Hospital, Larne; and the reasons why any specialities have ceased since 2011”.
Responding to the East Antrim UUP MLA, the Minister said: “Four consultant-led services have been relocated from the Moyle Hospital site since 2011. The Consultant led Dermatology clinic held on the Moyle Hospital site was re-located to the Antrim site due to job planning requirements in 2013/14, this is a permanent move.”
The Minister also advised respiratory services were being covered by a locum consultant and that the job planning for the locum had been temporarily located to Whiteabbey. Ultrasound scans during pregnancy has been temporarily switched to Antrim, due to a fault with equipment and General Medicine has been reconfigured and this service is now no longer provided at Moyle.
Roy Beggs MLA added “The movement of 4 specialist services from the Moyle Hospital is of concern; I will be pressing for renewal of equipment so that ultrasound scans can return locally. I will continue to lobby the Minister against the re-location of services from Moyle which can be provided locally. Roy Beggs MLA has also expressed concern at the potential loss of services as a result of the “temporary” closures of local services at Dalriada and Whiteabbey hospitals in recent weeks. The Ulster Unionist MLA said “There is a real danger of these “temporary” loss of local services becoming permanent and accessibility to health care becoming more difficult”.
