The Health Minister has inspected the ongoing construction of Northern Ireland's new state-of-the-art hospital and saw for himself how patient care will be delivered using the very latest technology.

During a visit to the Enniskillen site, Mr Edwin Poots also confirmed that the new facility will be called the South West Acute Hospital. The Minister also visited the Western Trust’s job fair in Enniskillen, where 100 new jobs are on offer in the new hospital which opens in June 2012.

It is the first hospital in Northern Ireland to be built with 100% single ensuite rooms. The single rooms will not only address the needs of patients, but each is specifically designed to address infection control issues.

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Built on a 52-acre site with a capital investment of £270million from the Department of Health, the new 300-bed hospital will begin admitting patients in June, just three years after construction began.

Mr Poots said: "I have been hugely impressed by this new state of the art healthcare facility for the people of Fermanagh and Tyrone and I am looking forward to the opening in June 2012.

"The South West Acute Hospital will offer a wide range of invaluable services including 24/7 emergency services; critical care services; inpatient medicine; major and emergency surgery; paediatric services; day-case surgery; a comprehensive range of diagnostics, including radiology and laboratory tests and a wide range of outpatient services.

"The hospital will also offer the most modern maternity services designed around the needs of the mothers and their families such including consultant-led and midwife-led care and a 24 hour epidural service."

The hospital is due for completion in May 2012 and expected to be operational by June 2012.

(CD/GK)