HOSPITAL UPGRADING RULED OUT
Hospital upgrading ruled out
Atrocity will not affect review
By William Allen
HOPES that the Tyrone County Hospital may be upgraded after the Omagh atrocity were dashed yesterday.
The chief executive of the Sperrin and Lakeland Trust, Hugh Mills, said there would be no change to acute hospital services in the town.
However, local councillors who have been demanding that services at the hospital be restored to full capacity said they would continue their campaign.
Mr Mills said: "The Sperrin and Lakeland Trust carried out a review of acute hospital services last year, in conjunction with the three local councils, and the recommendation from that review was to have one hospital on two sites.
"That is still our strategy and the strategy that we will work to."
Independent councillor Paddy McGowan said the hospital should be upgraded as a permanent memorial to those killed or injured in the Omagh bomb.
"We have been fighting against the running down of the county hospital for years," he said.
"We are not jumping on the bandwagon of this tragedy, instead. this is a cry from the heart.
"The greatest memorial to the people who were killed and injured in the bomb would be a real upgrading and retention of the services at the hospital.
"That is my feeling and I think it would be shared by 99 out of 100 people in Omagh."
Atrocity will not affect review
By William Allen
HOPES that the Tyrone County Hospital may be upgraded after the Omagh atrocity were dashed yesterday.
The chief executive of the Sperrin and Lakeland Trust, Hugh Mills, said there would be no change to acute hospital services in the town.
However, local councillors who have been demanding that services at the hospital be restored to full capacity said they would continue their campaign.
Mr Mills said: "The Sperrin and Lakeland Trust carried out a review of acute hospital services last year, in conjunction with the three local councils, and the recommendation from that review was to have one hospital on two sites.
"That is still our strategy and the strategy that we will work to."
Independent councillor Paddy McGowan said the hospital should be upgraded as a permanent memorial to those killed or injured in the Omagh bomb.
"We have been fighting against the running down of the county hospital for years," he said.
"We are not jumping on the bandwagon of this tragedy, instead. this is a cry from the heart.
"The greatest memorial to the people who were killed and injured in the bomb would be a real upgrading and retention of the services at the hospital.
"That is my feeling and I think it would be shared by 99 out of 100 people in Omagh."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0321
Published Date: 29-Aug-98
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