47 appointments cancelled at Causeway

PICTURE CREDIT: KEVIN MCAULEY..The Accident and Emergency Department at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine where Nurses were seriously assaulted recently and now local politicans are calling for the appointment of a security guard at the Hospital accident and Emergency Dept

The Northern Trust issued a statement following the recent hectic period, urging people to use a GP out of hours service unless their case is an absolute emergency: “The public can play a role in helping to ease the burden on busy emergency departments. If you feel your case is an emergency, then you must attend the emergency department. If it is not an emergency, then you should consider seeing your GP out-of-hours service.”

Local MLA George Robinson praised staff at the hospital, which is often used by Limavady residents, for their response to the crisis.

Now, Health Minister Edwin Poots has revealed that there were a total of 47 cancelled appointments during the period from March 5 to March 12. Of that total, 14 appointments were cancelled by patients themselves while the remaining 33 were cancelled by the hospital.