Three weeks ago, the previous Health Minister, Edwin Poots, announced the findings of a review which recommended that surgeries should cease to be delivered in Belfast and instead be moved to Dublin. A centre of excellence will be developed in Belfast to provide diagnostics and aftercare.
Kieran McCarthy MLA said: “I am saddened that Belfast Royal Victoria Hospital will no longer be the main provider of children’s cardiac services. This will be disappointing news for all the families who have been campaigning to keep surgeries in Belfast. Their hopes were raised by comments from the previous Health Minister, Edwin Poots, but it is clear that those words were meaningless.
“This will be a distressing time for all the families, who will now have to make the long journey to Dublin. It is now important that the Health Minister gives them all the support they need.
“Having surgeries in Dublin is better than an original suggestion of moving them to England, but the Health Minister should have attempted to keep more services in Belfast.”
ENDS