Health trust submits plan to retain A&E at Causeway Hospital

The BBC understands the Northern Health Trust is proposing to retain the accident and emergency department at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine.

It comes despite pressure from health officials that services should be cut.

Under a major plan to reform the health service in Northern Ireland, it has been recommended that the number of A&E departments should be reduced

There is uncertainty over the long-term future of both the Causeway Hospital and Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry.

On Thursday, Northern Ireland's five health trusts are due to submit their plans to the Health Board which will inform what the Health Minister, Edwin Poots, decides to do with certain hospitals in the future.

'Left alone'

According to the recently published <link> <caption>Transforming Your Care document</caption> <url href="http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/transforming-your-care-review-of-hsc-ni-final-report.pdf" platform="highweb"/> </link> , which is the road map for how health services will be delivered here, there should be one A&E department or acute hospital per 250,000 people.

In the plans it has submitted to the Health Board, the Northern Health Trust has argued that the Causeway A&E should be left alone, despite their figures not adding up.

The negative publicity surrounding the Antrim Area hospital might mean they will win this argument in the short term.

However, that will undoubtedly change once the new acute wing at Antrim is completed next summer.