"A big mess," asserted a Stormont health member, regarding news about a late opening for Belfast's new baby care center. The Democratic Unionist Party, represented by Diane Dodds, said the project is "10 years too late and costs twice as much."
Mike Nesbitt, Northern Ireland's Health Boss, said earlier on Monday that the center might open 28 months late because of work issues, including the presence of bad germs in the water.
The Belfast Trust stated that the waits are very difficult, but the water issues must be fixed before they treat patients.
Nesbitt said he could not make the bad news sound better. He had asked for an outside expert to check whether this is truly the best plan and indeed whether parts of the centre, located at the Royal Victoria Hospital site, can be made operational sooner.
The largest group of baby care providers in Northern Ireland said this new wait to open the Belfast baby care center is really bad and hard to take.
Anne Wilson, who is now running the Royal College of Midwives, stressed that water safety issues have to be sorted first if the new hospital is ever going to look after women, babies, and families properly. She pointed out that the endless delays are leaving parents frustrated and angry. "Our staff will continue to offer safe, caring support at the existing maternity unit, in community clinics, and in women's own homes across Belfast," she added.
The new maternity unit, located inside the Royal Victoria Hospital, is already ten years behind schedule and has eaten up £97 million of public money. Just months later, in July, routine water tests revealed dangerous levels of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the system. This bug is usually harmless to healthy adults but can pose a serious threat to newborns and people with weakened immune systems. At a meeting last Thursday, it was shared that the health trust had three ways to try to fix the water problem. The bosses picked the second way, saying it was the best choice to keep the at-risk babies safe.
Diane Dodds raised the delay while the hospital struggles with other problems. She asked if what she called a waste of public money should push the service into special measures, but the answer was no. In her view, the health minister still ought to treat it that way. Dodds insisted patients should get much better care and that safety must come first. It's plain wrong, she argued, that no one can say whether the wait will stretch to twenty-eight months or even longer.
The Belfast Trust carries the blame for this mess, she added. Union leader Patricia McKeown said she simply does not believe the politicians complaints about timing. She pointed out that the absence of a functioning government since 1999, when relocating maternity services to a new Royal Hospital site was first suggested, has hardly helped matters.
A spokesperson for Belfast Trust acknowledged the huge delays are very difficult for everyone involved but stressed that resolving the water safety problems must come first for the safety of sick patients.
They also said their planned fix for the issue came after they looked at all the "facts about the water systems in the new Maternity Hospital. The chosen fix will need 24 months to do, and then four months to move staff, patients, and services to the new hospital," they added.