To ask the Minister of Health to detail what engagement his Department has had with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust and local representatives, including SOS Causeway, to provide clarity about the hospital’s long-term future.

Departmental officials have regular and ongoing engagement with the Trust about a range of issues, including the Trust’s strategy for Causeway Hospital. The Trust restated its commitment to the long-term future of Causeway as an acute hospital site in its Strategic Vision for Causeway, and the Department’s Hospitals: Creating a Network for Better Outcomes indicates that consideration should be given to designating Causeway as an elective care centre.

The Trust has engaged with SOS Causeway representatives regarding the future of the hospital on a number of occasions, with a meeting planned in the short term to specifically discuss mental health services. The Trust has established a Causeway Hospital Partnership Forum with internal and external stakeholders, and SOS Causeway have a standing invitation to this Forum.