TC/1256

£2.5M health bill in bomb aftermath

ONGOING health costs, the legacy of the Omagh town centre bombing on August 15th, will be more than £2.5million, it has been revealed.
Speaking at the annual meeting of Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust, Mr. Hugh Mills, the Trust's chief executive, said a Recovery Plan had been costed and sent to the Secretary of State at her request.
The open meeting at Tyrone and Fermanagh hospital in Omagh, attracted a 70-strong attendance, more than 50 per cent of whom were members of the public.
They heard Mr. Mills say that Dr. Mo Mowlam had asked, in the aftermath of the bombing, to be advised of future implications for health and social services in the Province.
And he indicated that the final cost of the plan, which had been compiled by the Trust's director of finance, Mr. Michael McCrossan, with assistance from the senior officers of the Western Health and Social Services Board, was possible to predict.
He said that the costs of the Immediate response by the emergency services and the initial treatment in hospitals were about £1 million.
Establishing a community response team and recovery team had costs of about £290,000 with staff support arrangements costing £70,000.
The Trust had to commit £100,000 to improve rehabilitation facilities he said.
"Our physiotherapy and occupational therapy services are already under pressure as patients return for treatment. More than 60 of those have significant injuries, and will require care for some time," he said.
He also highlighted the need to establish the psychological support for the community.
Distressed
Said Mr. Mills: "Many people were involved in the incident. Although they were not physically injured, they were affected, and many in the wider community are distressed."
"The Trust's response strategy is one which recognises the significant strengths of the Omagh community, and will not intervene in ways which undermine those strengths. The emphasis is on facilitating the process of copying and recovery, and avoiding unnecessary medicalisation of these difficulties."
Should problems persist in the longer term, these will be identified and referred for appropriate professional assessment and treatment."
Mr. Mills explained: "Our submission, called The Recovery Plan, identifies the immediate response, and short to medium term requirements for the acute and community health and social care services. It does not include costs of prescribing and aspects of primary care which have been difficult to estimate."
"We are still preparing the implications for the longer term, and expect these to be significant as some of the injured will require comprehensive packages of care in their own homes for many months, and, possibly years."
As he spoke, the chief officer said 14 people remained in hospital 40 days after the horrific events of August 15th. Two of those were still on the critical list, one was seriously ill, and the other 11 were progressing well.
Continuing, Mr. Mills said additional physiotherapy and occupational therapy facilities had already been put in place to provide for "the necessary rehabilitation of the injured as they returned to our community."
He said, too, that the impact on waiting lists had been taken into consideration as the Recovery Plan was formulated, as the Trust did not wish to see others suffer delays in surgery. The submission also included estimates for the establishment of psychological support to the community and staff support.