Hospital births to be moved from Causeway to Antrim
A helpline for women who are due to give birth at Causeway has been created
Last updated 8th Jun 2023
The Department of Health’s Permanent Secretary has approved recommendation to consolidate hospital births on the Antrim Hospital site.
The service change relates only to births and follows a 14-week public consultation.
Meanwhile, antenatal, and postnatal clinics will be retained and enhanced on the Causeway site.
The Northern Trust has said the change will come into effect from the 17th of July 2023 and preparations are underway to implement the decision.
The decision by Peter May follows a meeting in March 2023, where the Board of the Northern Trust approved a recommendation that all hospital births should take place at Antrim Area Hospital.
The Health Department said the unsustainability of the current Causeway maternity unit relates to falling birth rates and associated difficulties of recruiting and retaining consultants and other staff.
The DOH said the decisions by Mr May has been taken ‘to ensure safe, consistent and sustainable care for mothers and babies in the Trust area.’
The Permanent Secretary said: “An overriding priority for our health service must be the provision of safe care for our population.
“This decision is in the best interests of mothers and babies in the Northern Trust area.
“Maintaining the current service across both the Causeway and Antrim sites would not be sustainable. Avoiding planned change would simply lead to unplanned and forced change.”
The DOH said hospitals with lower patient numbers can create significant issues for staff. Including: rota/on-call pressures inherent in smaller clinical teams and insufficient case mix to support specialisation, experience, and skill development.
As a result, it claims the Causeway maternity unit has become reliant on locum and temporary staff, making the provision of consistent care more difficult.
This, the Department has said, has become increasingly challenging to maintain adequate consultant cover at the maternity unit - including consultant cover for the transfer of seriously ill babies to a neonatal unit with staff who are specialised and skilled in providing care for sick new-borns.
The Northern Trust has said any women who are due to give birth at Causeway Hospital will be contacted directly by the Trust.
A helpline to answer any queries from women who are due to give birth at Causeway has also been created.
The Trust added that it remains committed to maintaining acute services and an Emergency Department at the site.
The Permanent Secretary’s approval has been conveyed to the Trust in a letter to its Chief Executive Jennifer Welsh. Conditions of the approval include making planned capacity changes at Antrim Hospital as outlined in the public consultation.
The Trust will also be required to prioritise the development of an interim three bedded Alongside Midwife Led Unit at Antrim. This is set to offer additional capacity in advance of longer-term plans for a new build Women and Children’s unit.
Setting out the Department’s decision-making process, Mr May continued: “I have reviewed the Trust’s consultation outcome in line with the 2019 Department of Health Guidance Change or Withdrawal of Services - Guidance on Roles and Responsibilities.
“I have also received advice and assessment from the Department of Health’s Strategic Planning and Performance Group and the Public Health Agency.
“I am satisfied that my decision is in accordance with Northern Ireland Executive Formation legislation and the associated Guidance published by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
“It is also consistent with the wider health transformation agenda which acknowledges that changes need to be made to ensure sustainability of services.”
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