Health Minister visits Altnagelvin Hospital
Health Minister Simon Hamilton has visited Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry to hear how the new cardiology service had performed during its first year of 24/7 service and to view progress on the hospital’s new Radiotherapy Unit.
The 24/7 primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (pPCI) service started on 15 September last year and is available to all patients in the Western Health and Social Care Trust and a proportion of patients within the Northern Trust. The launch completed full roll out of the pPCI service across Northern Ireland.
During his visit, Mr Hamilton met with staff and patients and afterwards said: “Earlier this month when I set out my plans for the future of the health and social care services, I said we need to see what world class would look like, and that I wanted us to see if we are prepared to take the decisions required to achieve a world class Health and Social Care system. I want what is best done locally, done locally. And what needs to be done regionally, done regionally.
“Here in Altnagelvin we see evidence of what that looks like in practice. The pPCI service is part of a regional service, crossing Trust boundaries, and indeed the Western Trust is looking at extending it to patients from Donegal. But it is also a local service, responding to local needs.
“The state of the art cardiac catheterisation facilities can be of enormous benefit to patients having a heart attack, allowing them to bypass the emergency department and go straight to the lab for treatment. It is truly an example of a modern, responsive, 24-hour, seven day a week service that provides the right care in the right place at the right time and I pay tribute to the dedicated staff who work so hard to ensure their patients get the best quality care possible.”
Minister Hamilton also visited the new Altnagelvin Radiotherapy Unit which is currently under construction.
The unit will provide radiotherapy treatment to 90% of clinically suitable patients in the North West region, including the Republic of Ireland.
The Minister said: “The Altnagelvin Radiotherapy Unit remains on target to become operational in autumn 2016.
“This will be welcome news for people living in the north west of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland who will benefit greatly from the treatment to be provided close to their homes. Cancer is a particular challenge to our health care system, however it is a global problem and not just in Northern Ireland. Access to effective treatments for the population of Northern Ireland is an important priority for me.”
When fully operational, the Radiotherapy Unit at Altnagelvin will be able to treat approximately 1,150 Northern Ireland patients and 385 Republic of Ireland patients each year.
Photo shows Mr Hamilton (second from right) during his visit to Altnagelvin Hospital. Included are (from left) Elaine Way, chief executive, Alan Moore, Western Trust director of strategic development and Gerard Guckian, chairman, Western Trust. (Photo: Andrew Towe, Parkway Photography).