Rally hears call for restoration of maternity services at Causeway Hospital
Campaigners have held a rally calling for the restoration of full maternity services at Causeway Hospital in Coleraine.
Those who took part in the event on Saturday expressed fears that the ending of births at the hospital would lead to other services at the site not being viable.
The recommendation to consolidate all hospital births in the Northern Trust area at the Antrim Hospital site was approved by the Department of Health last month.
Department permanent secretary Peter May said he had taken the decision to "ensure safe, consistent and sustainable care for mothers and babies in the trust area".
However, several hundred people took part in the march from the hospital to Coleraine town centre. They held placards and chanted "Save our services, save Causeway maternity".
The event was organised by the SOS Causeway Hospital campaign group and also received support from the SOS Daisy Hill Hospital group.
Chairwoman Gemma Brolly said they wanted to send a clear message to health chiefs.
She said: "We feel that our voices were ignored through the consultation process.
"Today is about giving people an opportunity to have their voices heard.
"As well as that we want to send a very strong message that we will act, we will stand up to do all that we can to retain all that we have here - that includes the emergency department, paediatrics, ICU, all within our hospital.
"We would like to see investment and our hospital being treated on an equal basis with all other hospitals."
Ms Brolly said people in rural areas surrounding Coleraine had been left hurt by the decision to end birth services at Causeway.
She said: "When you look to Ballycastle, when you look to Garvagh, when you look to places that are not very near to Antrim, in fact some places almost an hour of travel, they feel like they are being treated as second-class citizens.
"They pay the same rates, the same taxes, why not be treated on an equal basis when it comes to healthcare and maternity care?"
The campaign group met representatives from the Northern Trust on Friday, and Ms Brolly said she hoped this would result in better communication over plans for services at the hospital.
She said: "We pressed for a long-term plan in writing, something that will give the community faith that our hospital is not going to be swiped from below us.
"This is about the broader picture, across this country we are having essential services stripped from our hospitals and we are not going to stand by and allow that to happen.
"We want to stand up here today, show people pressure and say we are here to stay, we will continue fighting, we will take to the streets again if we need to, to protect our hospital."
Among those taking part in the march was DUP East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell, who said there was community concern about the future of Causeway Hospital.
He said: "It is a first-class small hospital but it is under threat because the maternity services have finished and will start in Antrim on Monday.
"The concern is that there could be a potential future threat to the overall hospital itself so our campaign has been to ensure that whatever services need to be put into the hospital are put in, if they are going to move maternity out, they need to provide information about what is going to replace it to make it a viable long-term hospital."
Maternity services were previously provided from the trust's two acute hospitals, Antrim Area and Causeway, but concerns were raised over the sustainability of services at the Causeway facility in Coleraine, where the number of births was lower.
The Department of Health said there were difficulties in recruiting and retaining consultants at the Causeway maternity unit.
The recommendation to consolidate births at Antrim Hospital on a permanent basis was made by the Northern Trust Board following a public consultation earlier this year.
The service change relates only to births.
Antenatal and postnatal clinics will be retained and enhanced on the Causeway site.
The department said the Causeway maternity unit has become reliant on locum and temporary staff, making the provision of consistent care more difficult.
Conditions of the consolidation of services at Antrim include making planned capacity changes at the hospital.