Lagan Valley Hospital

Lagan Valley Hospital
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Panoramic view of Lagan Valley Hospital, Lisburn
Geography
Location Lisburn, County Antrim/Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Organisation
Care system Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland
Hospital type District General
Services
Emergency department Yes, A&E daytime only since 2011
History
Founded 1947
Links
Website http://www.setrust.hscni.net/pvc/06%20Lagan%20Valley%20Hospital.html
Lists Hospitals in Northern Ireland

The Lagan Valley Hospital is a hospital in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It provides services to an estimated 125,000 people from Greater Lisburn, the Lisburn City Council area and other parts of South East Ulster.

History

The hospital can trace its roots back to a workhouse on the same Hillsborough Road site that opened during the famine. The workhouse which was then known as the Lisburn Poor House, became the Lisburn and Hillsborough District Hospital in 1922. After a major extension, the hospital was renamed Lagan Valley Hospital in 1947. The hospital has seen great enlargement in years since, hastened by the closure of the geriatric units at Killowen and Lissue.[1] At the turn of the millennium, the hospital was granted a new Accident and Emergency wing.

Today

In February 2008, the trust announced that maternity services were to cease at the hospital in 2009. The decision sparked major controversy and heralded the 'Save our Services' campaign, which was backed by local politicians and local newspaper, the Ulster Star. The move was part of measures to cut costs, however it has been claimed that the closure will put other hospitals in the region into 'meltdown'. A senior member of maternity liaison committee stated that it would have a 'detrimental impact', as hospitals in Belfast and Craigavon were already 'bursting'. Such claims were rejected by Health minister Michael McGimpsey, who deemed them 'unhelpful'.[2] The closure came only two years after the decision to strip the hospital of acute services.[3]

Similar controversy was caused by limiting the opening hours of the A&E unit to daytime hours of 9AM to 8PM since 2011. Local politicians and members of the community complained vociferously about the limited opening hours and demanded a full A&E service be restored, which was finally agreed to by Health Minister Edwin Poots and the SE Health Trust. As of June 2012, no date has been given for the restoration of full A&E service.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lisburn Historical Society: Volume 2 - Health and Wealth in the Borough of Lisburn.". E.J.Best. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  2. ↑ "Maternity units 'facing meltdown'. 20/5/08". BBC Northern Ireland. 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  3. ↑ "Acute services stopped at hospital. 12/1/06". BBC Northern Ireland. 2006-01-12. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  4. ↑ "Minister poised to approve 24 hours A&E access at Lagan Valley. 1/6/12". Ulster Star. 2012-06-01. Retrieved 2012-06-24.

Coordinates: 54°30′22″N 6°02′45″W / 54.50599°N 6.04590°W / 54.50599; -6.04590

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