Northern Health Trust invites public to have their say on review of general surgery services
Fri, September 27, 2024
Members of the public are being invited to a series of engagement sessions as part of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust's consultation on proposals to transform its general surgery services.
The Trust’s senior management are proposing to centralise emergency general surgery at Antrim Area Hospital, while the majority of elective general surgery (planned surgery and procedures) will take place at Causeway Hospital.
The consultation will run until Friday 29 November, 2024, with a series of public engagement sessions taking place, giving people the opportunity to ask questions to members of the Trust’s senior management team about the proposed change:
- Monday 30 September, 7pm, Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown
- Monday 7 October, 7pm, Lodge Hotel, Coleraine
- Wed 9 October, 7pm, Dunsilly Hotel, Antrim
There will also be an online engagement session on Tuesday, 1 October at 7pm for anyone unable to attend the in-person events.
The Trust said a review of general surgery is necessary due to a number of factors including workforce challenges, which they say have made it increasingly difficult to maintain the required levels of staffing to deliver all aspects of general surgery services across two sites.
Additionally, the Trust said the new Departmental standards for emergency and elective surgery contained within the Department of Health’s 2022 Review of General Surgery, cannot be fully met without service reconfiguration.
Kevin McMahon, Director of Surgery and Clinical Services with the Northern Trust, said: “Currently we provide elective (planned) and emergency general surgery at both Antrim and Causeway and, for a number of reasons, that model cannot be sustained in the longer-term.
“Our surgical teams also believe change is needed, and together we have looked at how we can create a better service for patients, while delivering a safe and responsive general surgery service for the future."
Read more about the general surgery consultation here.