Altnagelvin Hospital to take on paediatric services from South West Acute Hospital
In a statement today, the Department of Health says that maternity services will remain at the hospital but “neonates requiring neonatal admission (small number) will be transferred to Altnagelvin”.
The Department said: “The plan involves protecting children’s and maternity services while releasing bed space to contribute to the overall surge response.”
Details of the plan show that the Department have put in place a five-step plan with respect to paediatric services with each step seeing the closure of more children wards and services across the North of Ireland.
SWAH is part of the first step in the cutting of services with the Causeway Hospital also losing inpatient paediatrics which are also being moved to Derry.
Ambulatory services at SWAH, where children can be assessed and sent home on the same day, will remain.
“Children’s and maternity services will be temporarily reconfigured to free up to 130 beds during extreme surge in acute hospitals, which will be vital in treating the sickest patients and makes best use of our hospitals.
“A regional plan has been agreed with all Trusts and paediatric units which contains a number of steps that can be triggered depending on the pressures on services.
“Around 50 beds for adults could be made available when Step One is implemented in the days ahead,” a spokesperson for the DoH stated.
The plan is also being put in place, health chiefs say, to protect highly specialised paediatric services which are only available in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, and make sure they can continue even if many staff are absent because of illness.
Altnagelvin is also earmarked as one of three Nightingale hospitals to cope with the surge of positive tests for COVID-19.
A 230-bed Nightingale centre will open next week at Belfast City Hospital’s Tower Block as health chiefs fear COVID-19 could peak by Easter Sunday or beyond.
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