TRAUMA CENTRE TO CLOSE AT END OF YEAR
Trauma Centre to close at end of year
OMAGH Trauma Centre is to close at the end of the year, signalling an end to the support service that was provided to local victims of the Omagh bombing atrocity, over the past two years.
The Trauma Team, based at the Bridge Centre in Campsie, was set up by the Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust in the aftermath of the bomb with the help of special funding from the Northern Ireland Office.
Trauma team director, David Bolton said that the team was established with a short to medium term life span.
"The position of the Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust is that it expected the objectives of Omagh Community Trauma and Recovery Team to have been largely achieved by the end of this year," he said.
"At this stage, the Trust is seeking funding up to the end of December and will keep the situation under review," he added.
He said that the Trust would welcome and support the development of a more broadly based service, which could provide a range of trauma related services to those who have been affected by the Troubles and to others who have had traumatic and distressing experiences.
However he revealed that experience to date suggested that the provision of a service in Belfast was not sufficiently assessable for local people.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, said, that funding for the centre came as part of a �2.7 million non-recurring package. He said that the Department would continue to work on all possibilities for assisting the Western Board and the Sperrin Lakeland Trust.
OMAGH Trauma Centre is to close at the end of the year, signalling an end to the support service that was provided to local victims of the Omagh bombing atrocity, over the past two years.
The Trauma Team, based at the Bridge Centre in Campsie, was set up by the Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust in the aftermath of the bomb with the help of special funding from the Northern Ireland Office.
Trauma team director, David Bolton said that the team was established with a short to medium term life span.
"The position of the Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust is that it expected the objectives of Omagh Community Trauma and Recovery Team to have been largely achieved by the end of this year," he said.
"At this stage, the Trust is seeking funding up to the end of December and will keep the situation under review," he added.
He said that the Trust would welcome and support the development of a more broadly based service, which could provide a range of trauma related services to those who have been affected by the Troubles and to others who have had traumatic and distressing experiences.
However he revealed that experience to date suggested that the provision of a service in Belfast was not sufficiently assessable for local people.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, said, that funding for the centre came as part of a �2.7 million non-recurring package. He said that the Department would continue to work on all possibilities for assisting the Western Board and the Sperrin Lakeland Trust.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1490
Published Date: 17-Aug-00
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