£1 million investment at Causeway Hospital approved

The investment will see the replacement of ageing CT equipment with modern, fit-for-purpose scanners which will support the Emergency Department and provide 24/7 access to CT scanning.

Chair of the Northern Trust Board Anne O’Reilly, said: “This is a significant investment in local hospital services, and signals the Trust’s commitment to continuing to improve our services for the benefit of our service users, patients, and the wider community.

“We are all acutely aware of the budget pressures facing the health and social care system at this time, so I am pleased that we have been able to allocate funds to these important projects to enhance and improve our services.”

The £1 million funding comes following a recent £2 million investment in the hospital’s Emergency Department, and enhancement of ambulatory services and frailty care. Preparations are also underway to provide enhanced antenatal care and clinics at Causeway Hospital.

Chief Executive of the Northern Trust, Jennifer Welsh, said: “Causeway Hospital is a key part of our acute hospital network and this investment highlights our commitment to maintaining acute services and an Emergency Department on the site.

“As well as our maternity hub which will continue to offer high quality antenatal and postnatal care which are critical local services for women, we have plans to enhance these services so that pregnant women will have access to complex antenatal care and clinics.

“We are also now looking at how we can enhance elective surgery at Causeway, having recently invested £2 million in the hospital’s Emergency Department and enhancing ambulatory and frailty care.

“We are working closely with colleagues at the Department of Health to explore and plan the further development of diagnostic services at Causeway to support emergency, elective and cancer services.

“We recognise the hospital and its staff play a key role in serving the local community. Causeway Hospital has a very bright future ahead.”

From Monday 17 July, all hospital births in the Northern Trust area will take place at Antrim Area Hospital.

The maternity unit at Causeway Hospital will continue to provide early pregnancy assessment clinics, antenatal clinics and scheduled appointments.