In a significant development for Northern Ireland, Belfast City Hospital has been earmarked as the prospective location for a new regional Mother and Baby Unit. The Belfast Trust is set to initiate the formulation of a comprehensive business case for the proposed unit, to be situated in South Belfast.
Addressing the endeavor, Department of Health Permanent Secretary Peter May underscored the formidable financial landscape as a critical factor influencing the project’s timeline. May acknowledged the challenging fiscal circumstances and emphasized the necessity of securing funding for the construction and operation of the envisaged facility.
Amidst these deliberations, Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw expressed reservations about the project’s certainty, citing a lack of transparency surrounding budgets. While welcoming the designation of City Hospital for the proposed regional unit, Bradshaw voiced concerns about the sluggish progress in service reforms, attributing it to inadequate budgets and an impediment in scrutinizing fund allocation due to the ongoing political stalemate at Stormont.
Sinn Féin MLA Órlaithi Flynn emphasized the urgent need for the restoration of an Executive to facilitate the establishment of the first Mother and Baby Unit on the island. Flynn drew attention to the distressing incidents arising from resource constraints in maternity and mental health services and welcomed the Department of Health’s announcement regarding the City Hospital site.
In advocating for a specialized perinatal mental health service, Flynn stressed the importance of an entity that is both purpose-built and accessible to all women on the island. However, she lamented the current lack of power to secure funding for the specialized unit, attributing it to a party’s boycott of the Executive. Flynn urged collaborative efforts among all political parties to prioritize women’s health and expedite the establishment of the island’s inaugural mother and baby unit, emphasizing the urgency of the situation for mothers and families in need.
