Storey questions Minister on Roddens Care Home and the Causeway Hospital

During the exchange in the Assembly the local MLA stated: “He [The Minister] will be glad to know that I, along with my colleague Alderman Bill Kennedy, delivered many hundreds of responses to the consultation to the board’s headquarters last Friday, and we await the response to that. The respondents referred particularly to the Roddens in Ballymoney and their support for that provision.” Mr. Storey continued: “I ask the Minister to update the House on the option appraisal for the Causeway Hospital in north Antrim.”

In response the Minister stated: “Transforming Your Care never identified that 100% of residential care homes should be closed. The trusts thought that they would do something different, and I think that it was appropriate to take steps to stop that process because it clearly caused distress to older people.”

On the Causeway Hospital the Minister said: “The Northern Health and Social Care Trust has been working to take forward the implementation of the turnaround improvement plan for the Causeway Hospital… I want to be very clear: the Causeway has a strong future. It is a distinct facility in an area that is quite a distance — almost equidistant — from other key facilities at Altnagelvin and Antrim. A large population is based in that area, so I see the Causeway Hospital having a significant role. “

Mr. Storey has welcomed the Minister’s comments on the Causeway Hospital, saying that it shows the Minister is listening to local voices and recognises that there is a clear need for its future provision.