Health Minister Edwin Poots today marked a new era for Antrim Area hospital when he cut the first sod on the site of the new £9million emergency department.

The new state-of-the-art emergency department will provide services for up to 90,000 patients annually. It will include patient resuscitation areas, isolation rooms, additional diagnostic rooms with X-ray and CT facilities and clinical decision areas.

The construction of the unit is one of a number of capital projects currently underway at the Antrim Hospital site. While on his visit today, the Minister also cut the sod on a new 24 bed general medicine unit at the hospital. When completed, the new ward will help the Trust address the pressures and demands for beds at the site.

Mr Poots said: "The construction of units like these at Antrim is another signal that our service is undergoing a transformation. We are now engaging in a process that will change forever the way we deliver care. We are now implementing Transforming Your Care, a Review of Health and Social Care, to improve patient outcomes. We are putting in place a model where there will be a significant shift from provision of services in hospitals to provision of services closer to home, in the community or in the GP surgery where it is safe to do this. It will mean more services will become increasingly accessible and will put patients at the centre of decision making about their treatment. While we aim to help more people to access care away from hospitals, we recognise that provision of safe and quality care in hospitals will always be very important. I believe these new units will offer a setting that ensure the highest quality of care for those that need it.

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"The construction of the new emergency department and ward mark the beginning of a new era for Antrim Area Hospital and for the people it serves. These modern facilities will be constructed using the latest innovations in design and technology and will be well-equipped to provide secure, safe, high quality services to patients. These new facilties will enable all hospital staff to deliver a better a service to the public. Patients and their families will be provided with a wide range of services in an appropriate, comfortable and caring environment."

(CD)