Stormont Health Minister Ms Bairbre de Brún's plans for modernising hospitals in Northern Ireland would leave Omagh with a "cottage hospital tantamount to a glorified health centre," the Assembly was told today.
In a stinging attack on the Minister's plans for acute services, the SDLP’s Mr Joe Byrne claimed people in the West of the region felt let down by her plans to focus on acute services in Erne Hospital in County Fermanagh.
During a Private Notice Question which summoned Ms de Brún to the House, he asked: "Would the Minister agree with me that if her proposals are implemented Omagh will be left with nothing more than a cottage hospital tantamount to a glorified health centre?
However Ms de Brún defended her plans, insisting that people in Counties Tyrone and Fermanagh would have access to "high quality services for the 21st century". The Minister outlined how her and her officials had worked with the Republic’s Health Minister Mr Micheal Martin on developing services for the mutual benefit of communities on both sides of the border.
She also reminded MLAs that there was a consultation period for her Developing Better Services document which would run until September 30th.
Noting the consultation period would last for 16 weeks, the Sinn Féin Minister insisted: "People should aim to have their responses with the department by that date (September 30th)."
PA