The new acute hospital under construction on the outskirts of Enniskillen will be the first new-build hospital in Northern Ireland to have single rooms available to patients.

The Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey explained that the advantages of single rooms included improved infection control and greater privacy for visitors and patients.

"Providing individual rooms for patients in hospitals", he said, "will result in significant health benefits. Research shows that the main advantage of single rooms is the potential to reduce infections and improve patient safety.

"Single rooms will also facilitate greater privacy and dignity for patients and an end to mixed-sex ward areas, which is often a cause of concern for the public."

BUILDING COSTS

The Minister said his Department had examined experience from elsewhere and looked at the cost implications of introducing single rooms into new hospitals.

He said: "It is evident there is likely to be a small increase in building costs, but this is outweighed by the significant benefits it can provide for patients and their families. I am determined that we provide modern world-class services to meet the needs of the people in Northern Ireland.

"Patients cared for in the new acute hospital in Enniskillen will be the first to benefit from this policy. I will be asking Trusts to ensure all new hospitals are planned on the basis of 100 percent single rooms and to maximise the number of single rooms when carrying out major refurbishments."

The Western Trust welcomed the Health Minister's announcement this week on single room care and reaffirmed its commitment to deliver the £267million hospital, which is planned to open in 2012.

The Western Trust's Chief Executive, Elaine Way, said: "This is great news for health and social care in the Western area and across Northern Ireland. Single room care offers a wide range of benefits and we are delighted to be pioneering the way forward at our new South West Hospital."

ADVANTAGE

She further commented: "An increase in single room accommodation will help greatly in meeting our aim of providing the highest possible standards of patient-focused healthcare.

"We will work to maximise the clear advantages that this offers, not only in terms of patient satisfaction, but, as research supports, in the positive impact on the healing process and the control of infection.

"We look forward to launching this new hospital as an example of best practice in modern design standards."

The Western Trust's Project Director for the new Acute Hospital for the South West, Alan Moore, added: "We have worked extremely hard throughout the development of the new South West Hospital project to ensure we capitalise on the many benefits offered by a modern state-of-the-art hospital and single room care provision will allow us to deliver the very best care for patients.

"The Minister's decision supports our thinking in single room care and will now allow us to forge ahead with the delivery of the new hospital project which is part of the Western Trust's wider capital development programme."