VICTIMS MINISTER SEES NEW REHABILITATION UNIT IN ACTION
Victims minister sees new rehabilitation unit action
VICTIMS Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, met Mr Garry McGillion, who was injured in the Omagh bombing one week before his planned wedding to Miss Donna Marie Keyes, at the new rehabilitation unit at the Tyrone County Hospital on Monday.
Mr McGillion, who will now marry his fiancee at the end of the month, was undergoing his regular physiotherapy exercises when the Minister called to inspect the sophisticated machinery for pain relief and muscle stimulation.
Some of the state-of-the-art equipment was paid for with the �150,000 raised at a charity auction in Dublin in October, at which a lithograph of a Prince Charles painting sold for �53,000.
Mr McGillion told the Minister that he had to attend the outpatients facility for an hour a day, three days a week.
"Only for the physiotherapy work we are doing we wouldn't be as supple and strong, so this new equipment has helped a lot. I feel that I am improving every day thanks to the efforts of the staff here," he said.
"They say it could take another year or two, but I have felt a vast improvement in myself."
Earlier in the day, the Minister listened to grievances about compensation payments during a private meeting with members of the Omagh Self-Help and Support Group.
"I learned a lot from talking to them, and I have undertaken to go back to them with some specific points they raised," Mr Ingram said.
"I understand their grief and, from the Government's point of view, we will do all we are able to help them at this time, and look at ways to put in place support mechanisms."
The Minister also received a presentation from the Trauma Team at the Bridge Centre in Campsie. Speaking afterwards, Mr Ingram said it had been a productive meeting.
"We discussed all the things we are trying to do together to deliver Government services. But everyone must understand that we are generally learning as we go along," he said.
The Minister refused to be drawn on the future of the Tyrone County Hospital.
"A review is taking place so I wouldn't want to prejudge. We have got to have the most effective and efficient delivery of health service in the Omagh area. More importantly, as we move towards devolution of power, it will be a matter for the Assembly," he said.
Before leaving Omagh, he paid tribute to the victims of the bombing, and all those who are helping to reconstruct the town.
"The purpose of my visit is to allow me, as Victims' Minister, to see what is happening here in Omagh. All groups tried to get to grips with what was a very difficult problem to tackle," he said.
"Over the last 30 years there have been many atrocities, but Omagh encapsulated a new sense of grief and hurt. The way in which the Omagh community reacted to it is something we can all learn from."
VICTIMS Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, met Mr Garry McGillion, who was injured in the Omagh bombing one week before his planned wedding to Miss Donna Marie Keyes, at the new rehabilitation unit at the Tyrone County Hospital on Monday.
Mr McGillion, who will now marry his fiancee at the end of the month, was undergoing his regular physiotherapy exercises when the Minister called to inspect the sophisticated machinery for pain relief and muscle stimulation.
Some of the state-of-the-art equipment was paid for with the �150,000 raised at a charity auction in Dublin in October, at which a lithograph of a Prince Charles painting sold for �53,000.
Mr McGillion told the Minister that he had to attend the outpatients facility for an hour a day, three days a week.
"Only for the physiotherapy work we are doing we wouldn't be as supple and strong, so this new equipment has helped a lot. I feel that I am improving every day thanks to the efforts of the staff here," he said.
"They say it could take another year or two, but I have felt a vast improvement in myself."
Earlier in the day, the Minister listened to grievances about compensation payments during a private meeting with members of the Omagh Self-Help and Support Group.
"I learned a lot from talking to them, and I have undertaken to go back to them with some specific points they raised," Mr Ingram said.
"I understand their grief and, from the Government's point of view, we will do all we are able to help them at this time, and look at ways to put in place support mechanisms."
The Minister also received a presentation from the Trauma Team at the Bridge Centre in Campsie. Speaking afterwards, Mr Ingram said it had been a productive meeting.
"We discussed all the things we are trying to do together to deliver Government services. But everyone must understand that we are generally learning as we go along," he said.
The Minister refused to be drawn on the future of the Tyrone County Hospital.
"A review is taking place so I wouldn't want to prejudge. We have got to have the most effective and efficient delivery of health service in the Omagh area. More importantly, as we move towards devolution of power, it will be a matter for the Assembly," he said.
Before leaving Omagh, he paid tribute to the victims of the bombing, and all those who are helping to reconstruct the town.
"The purpose of my visit is to allow me, as Victims' Minister, to see what is happening here in Omagh. All groups tried to get to grips with what was a very difficult problem to tackle," he said.
"Over the last 30 years there have been many atrocities, but Omagh encapsulated a new sense of grief and hurt. The way in which the Omagh community reacted to it is something we can all learn from."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1332
Published Date: 11-Mar-99
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