Over 43,000 admissions to local A&E

The figures were released to SDLP MLA John Dallat last week.

They also revealed that in the same period only 481 patients were transferred to specialist hospitals from the Causeway.

The SDLP MLA, who has championed the need to retain a 24 hour service at the hospital, said that the figures show that the service is ‘clearly in demand.’

“These figures underline the critical role the Causeway Hospital Emergency Care Department is providing to a very large number of people in its catchment area, and the need to ensure that any proposals under Transforming Your Care (TYC) proposals takes fully into account the absolute need to maintain a fully-operational A & E Department on a 24 hour basis.”

Mr Dallat went on: “The fact that the Causeway only needed to transfer a very small number of patients to specialist hospitals rubbishes suggestions that A&E services should be centralised, as suggested in the Sir Ian Donaldson Report.

“The need for building partnerships with other hospitals is valid, and to be encouraged so that the Causeway can maximise its specialist areas of health care in collaboration with other hospitals.

“Hopefully these figures, and other important progress made at the Causeway Hospital, allows the focus now to be clearly on how the hospital can be developed to meet the needs of the people it serves, whilst also being a significant player in the wider field of specialist hospital services.

“The increasing collaboration with Altnagelvin Area Hospital is a welcome development.

“This should and will lead to greater participation in cross-border partnerships with Letterkenny General Hospital, and strengthening of hospital services in the North West.

“The Causeway Hospital should now be viewed in a positive way, as a critical element of acute hospital services in this area with future investment in specialist medical staff to build on recent appointments made by the Northern Health Trust,” Mr Dallat concluded.