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£80m 'transforming' health centres due to completed by 2016 yet to be built

A £25m health and care centre 'hub' opened in Ballymena two years ago
A £25m health and care centre 'hub' opened in Ballymena two years ago A £25m health and care centre 'hub' opened in Ballymena two years ago

A NEW £40 million medical centre in Co Down that was due to be completed in 2016 and 'transform' care is still awaiting planning approval, the Department of Health has revealed.

The Newry project, which was first announced by former DUP health minister Edwin Poots four years ago and heralded as a "key element" in moving hospital services into the community, was twinned with a similar £40m project in Lisburn.

Both schemes were to be built in partnership with the private sector and were a central part of the 'Transforming Your Care' reform programme - which aimed to overhaul the system by concentrating care in community settings.

A Department spokeswoman told the Irish News that while the Lagan Valley hospital site has been identified for the Lisburn centre - known as a 'hub' - a site has still to be finalised in Newry.

A £25m hub was opened in Ballymena two years ago.

The multi-million pound schemes in Newry and Lisburn aim to slash hospital waiting lists by providing services such as diagnostic testing, x-rays, physiotherapy, children's services and GPs all under the one roof.

In December 2016, a whistleblower raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest in the procurement process for the Newry and Lisburn projects - a move which led to an investigation by the Department of Finance (DFP) fraud investigation service.

The move delayed the projects but a DFP spokeswoman confirmed last night the probe concluded last September, with no evidence of wrongdoing.

"There is no evidence that any public servant’s behaviour constituted an abuse of position," she said.

When asked about the lack of progress on building work, a Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Plans for both primary care hubs are progressing and they are expected to reach final contract award stage during 2018. The Lisburn hub will be built on the Lagan Valley Hospital site. The preferred bidder for the Newry project has identified a site in Newry that is acceptable to the Southern Trust and is currently seeking planning approval for the proposed hub on that site."

Last October, the chief executive of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Liam Hannaway said that land close to the Abbey Primary School on Courtenay Hill had been identified - but concerns had been raised by Transport NI about parking access.

However, a report carried in the Newry Reporter a fortnight ago stated that council chiefs expected the application to go before its planning committee by May or June.

Last month, TransportNI correspondence said that it did not consider it feasible that "a significant portion of users of the centre will find it practical to use public transport to travel to the site".

"Even if there are public transport facilities within a reasonable distance... Newry, Mourne and Down is mostly an area of dispersed population, which is not served by public transport infrastructure catering for door-to-door journeys," it stated.

“On this basis, considering the nature of the development, full parking provision should be provided within the site.

"...The local road network cannot accommodate any overflow on an on street basis.

"The suggestion that patients or staff will seek out available spaces in nearby public car parks in anticipation of no availability on site is not realistic."