UUP urged to clarify Causeway Hospital stance after Jon Burrows backs keeping key services at Coleraine site
Jon Burrows has defended his support for the retention of emergency general surgery (EGS) at the Causeway Hospital, despite proposals by the local health trust to move the service to Antrim – a decision which the UUP health minister will have to approve.
The DUP and TUV are calling on the Ulster Unionist Party to set out its position on the future of the Coleraine hospital, as it is unclear whether the health minister will approve the Northern Trust’s plans.
The UUP has been asked for its position but has yet to comment – but Mike Nesbitt’s department says any decision will be “underpinned and supported by the relevant data”.
The Department of Health also said Causeway Hospital “continues to have a crucial role in providing appropriate care” – and that “a dynamic approach” to maintaining services is needed.
Mr Burrows made the comments at a public rally in Coleraine last week. However, he has said he was fulfilling his role as a constituency MLA by arguing for the retention of the service – and argued that is different from party or Department of Health (DoH) policy.
North Antrim MP Jim Allister, whose constituency is served by the hospital, says the UUP leader needs to “come clean”.
“Does his party support the position he articulated in a public meeting just last week? Is Minister Nesbitt - who serves in the Executive because Mr Burrows permitted him to remain there - committed to the Causeway? Or does the UUP leader say one thing and his party and his Minister do the opposite?
“Jon prides himself on being a straight talker. It is time we had some clarity on a key issue when it comes to his constituents in North Antrim.
“Who represents the UUP position on this issue? Is it the party leader? Is it the party’s Minister? Or is there, as was suggested might be the case in this morning’s interview on Good Morning Ulster, some third way which is the UUP position?
“What’s the point of the UUP being in the Executive if they cannot be clear on the future of key public services in the UUP leader’s constituency?”
East Londonderry DUP MLA Maurice Bradley says the UUP must demonstrate that its opposition to removing emergency surgery from Causeway Hospital “amounts to more than words”.
“Jon Burrows stood before a packed meeting in Coleraine and emphatically declared that removing these services would not be done in his name and that he would not stand for it.
“Yet days later he appeared to suggest that, as UUP leader, there is little he can do to influence a UUP Health Minister”.
Mr Bradley said the health minister is “not merely there to rubber-stamp” recommendations the Trust.
Speaking on the proposals to end EGS at the hospital, Mr Burrows told the meeting in Coleraine last week: “I do not agree with it and I will never agree with it. I cannot get any clearer than that.
“Emergency surgery must remain at the Causeway Hospital and it should be built up, not run down and that is my position and it's not for negotiation”.
On Monday morning, a campaign group which supports the retention of services in Coleraine said Mr Burrows had given the health minister “backing” to oppose the planned changes.
SoS Causeway Hospital shared Mr Burrows’s speech, commenting: “When a party leader publicly draws the line, it gives a minister the essential political backing to push back against trust recommendations and align departmental actions directly with evidence and public consultation”.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Every hospital is needed and Causeway Hospital continues to have a crucial role in providing appropriate care to our population. We recognise that the health needs of our population are constantly evolving and need to consider a dynamic approach to maintaining our health and social care services.
“The ongoing engagement and information analysis will take some time. However, it is important that any decisions are underpinned and supported by the relevant data.
“In considering the future model for general surgery across the Northern Trust, the Trust is required to follow the Guidance on the Change and Withdrawal of Services. This includes appropriate engagement and assessment of impact as part of any proposals for service change. Any decision on a permanent change to the delivery of emergency general surgery in the Northern Trust would require approval from the Department.”