Causeway Hospital: Public meeting held over maternity services

The public meeting was organised by the Northern Trust, which is carrying out a public consultation on maternity services at Causeway Hospital

A public meeting has been held in Portrush over the future of maternity services at Causeway Hospital.

The event was organised by the Northern Trust, which is carrying out a public consultation on its options.

The trust said its resources were currently spread too thinly across Causeway Hospital and Antrim Area Hospital.

Dr David Morgan described the situation as "fragile and vulnerable", adding there was "a pressing need for change".

Fewer than twenty members of the public attended the meeting on Wednesday night.

They were presented with several options on the future of services.

The Northern says birth numbers in the Causeway Coast and Glens area have declined year-on-year

One proposal is to move all births to Antrim Area Hospital while retaining antenatal and postnatal clinics at Causeway Hospital.

The other is to move consultant-led births to Antrim Area Hospital and develop a free-standing unit at Causeway for low-intervention midwifery care.

The Northern Trust has said birth numbers in the Causeway Coast and Glens area have declined year-on-year.

It expects birth rates to fall in the area by 11 per cent within the next 20 years.

The trust says clinicians have significant concerns around the maintenance of skills in complex cases and the exposure of staff to emergencies.

It also has highlighted difficulties in recruiting consultants to Causeway.

The Northern Trust wants to have a new build £150m Women and Children's Unit on the Antrim site.

'Increasingly stripped of services'

A retired nurse attending the meeting on Wednesday spoke out against the proposals.

"Is there any real reason why a new build can't be made in Causeway where it is halfway between Belfast and Derry?

"It would make a lot more sense to me than asking young people, pregnant women, to travel in labour to Antrim… 40 miles from Coleraine," she said.

Gemma Brolly of political party Aontú said there was "a narrative out there - people do believe that Causeway Hospital has been very slowly but increasingly stripped of services".

Chief executive of the Northern Trust Jennifer Welsh said the trust was not closing Causeway Hospital and that she was "very clear of a vibrant future for Causeway".

The public consultation closes on March 3.