STORM OVER FUNDING OF NEW TRAUMA CENTRE
Storm over funding of new trauma centre
By Michael McHugh
THE opening of a pioneering centre for research into the traumatic legacy of the Troubles was today the subject of a row over Government funding.
Michael Gallagher, the chairman of the Omagh Victims' Trust, representing the rest of the Omagh victims, said the Government was setting up the Northern Ireland Trauma and Transformation Centre, due to be officially unveiled on Wednesday, as a charity to avoid footing the entire bill itself.
The Northern Ireland Office's victims unit has given a �1.5m boost to the centre but the Omagh relatives, including Stanley McCombe and Mr Gallagher, feel it should be a Health Service facility, funded without victims' money and charitable donations.
The Omagh Victims' Trust has donated �lm to the venture. The criticism has been refuted by the director of the centre, David Bolton, who said the it filled a valuable role as a voluntary trust and an international pacesetter for research into trauma.
But Mr Gallagher said: "The Government are taking money which is for the victims and using it for their own purposes.
"It is not for me to question whether a victims' centre should be set up in Omagh. It is the manner in which it is being established and funded that I object to.
"The Government is getting the centre by stealth without having to bear the full costs of it. The same people from the old health centre are running it � they are former NHS employees, but are now part of this centre working with fundraisers to attract donations.
"I am not saying it is wrong to have this operation but I think the Government should be up-front and fund it without presenting it as a charitable trust.
"�lm from the Omagh Victims' Trust is being spent to fund what is essentially a government trauma centre."
The new organisation's predecessor, the Bridge Centre, was established in Omagh in 1998 to help victims deal with the psychological effects of the Omagh bomb.
It was funded by the Sperrin Lakeland Health Trust and closed in 2001 because its envisaged role as an initial support service had been fulfilled. Many of the original staff have been seconded onto the new body.
The director of the new centre said it had been set up to build on the good work carried out with victims in the aftermath of Omagh.
"This centre was set up to build on the generosity of people from across the world and the desire to do something positive," Mr Bolton said.
"It is important for people who have been damaged by the Troubles. Our skills are much sought after.
"The Sperrin Lakeland Trust have their own facilities for psychological care in the area and we are building on the statutory services' provisions. We are independent from the government so we have more freedom to conduct research and look at a specialist area like the trauma of victims."
The NIO said the centre was funded because a need had been established for the service outside the health budget so it could act as a regional centre for trauma care for Troubles victims.
The Rev Martin Smyth, MP for South Belfast, initially raised the question of the NIO grant and defended the Government's decision to use private money in the venture.
"The Health Service benefits from services provided by private donors all the time," he said.
By Michael McHugh
THE opening of a pioneering centre for research into the traumatic legacy of the Troubles was today the subject of a row over Government funding.
Michael Gallagher, the chairman of the Omagh Victims' Trust, representing the rest of the Omagh victims, said the Government was setting up the Northern Ireland Trauma and Transformation Centre, due to be officially unveiled on Wednesday, as a charity to avoid footing the entire bill itself.
The Northern Ireland Office's victims unit has given a �1.5m boost to the centre but the Omagh relatives, including Stanley McCombe and Mr Gallagher, feel it should be a Health Service facility, funded without victims' money and charitable donations.
The Omagh Victims' Trust has donated �lm to the venture. The criticism has been refuted by the director of the centre, David Bolton, who said the it filled a valuable role as a voluntary trust and an international pacesetter for research into trauma.
But Mr Gallagher said: "The Government are taking money which is for the victims and using it for their own purposes.
"It is not for me to question whether a victims' centre should be set up in Omagh. It is the manner in which it is being established and funded that I object to.
"The Government is getting the centre by stealth without having to bear the full costs of it. The same people from the old health centre are running it � they are former NHS employees, but are now part of this centre working with fundraisers to attract donations.
"I am not saying it is wrong to have this operation but I think the Government should be up-front and fund it without presenting it as a charitable trust.
"�lm from the Omagh Victims' Trust is being spent to fund what is essentially a government trauma centre."
The new organisation's predecessor, the Bridge Centre, was established in Omagh in 1998 to help victims deal with the psychological effects of the Omagh bomb.
It was funded by the Sperrin Lakeland Health Trust and closed in 2001 because its envisaged role as an initial support service had been fulfilled. Many of the original staff have been seconded onto the new body.
The director of the new centre said it had been set up to build on the good work carried out with victims in the aftermath of Omagh.
"This centre was set up to build on the generosity of people from across the world and the desire to do something positive," Mr Bolton said.
"It is important for people who have been damaged by the Troubles. Our skills are much sought after.
"The Sperrin Lakeland Trust have their own facilities for psychological care in the area and we are building on the statutory services' provisions. We are independent from the government so we have more freedom to conduct research and look at a specialist area like the trauma of victims."
The NIO said the centre was funded because a need had been established for the service outside the health budget so it could act as a regional centre for trauma care for Troubles victims.
The Rev Martin Smyth, MP for South Belfast, initially raised the question of the NIO grant and defended the Government's decision to use private money in the venture.
"The Health Service benefits from services provided by private donors all the time," he said.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0890
Published Date: 02-Jun-03
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