BY CONOR SHARKEY

STRABANE Health Centre will not receive any upgrade in services until at least 2010, the Government announced this week.

Government plans for the future of the Upper Main Street facility were revealed by Minister for Public Health Michael McGimpsey in a response to a question by West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty. Mr Doherty asked the Minister why Strabane was omitted from the first round of capital development proposals unveiled by the Western Health and Social Services Board (WHSSB) recently.

Responding, Minister McGimpsey said that £900,000 had been invested in Strabane Health Centre over the past six years. He added that the prioritisation of projects had been based on their current condition and that Strabane was judged to be good. Mr McGimpsey also revealed that there were no plans to enhance services in Strabane until full details of proposals were submitted at the end of 2009.

Accusing the WHSSB of missing a golden opportunity to alleviate some of the pressure on Altnagelvin Hospital's Accident and Emergency department by implenting a number of basic services locally, Mr Doherty said: "Enhancing the range of medical services available at a local primary care level helps to alleviate pressure on Accident and Emergency units as people with less serious conditions can access treatment much closer to home within a shorter timeframe.

"Sinn Fein has been lobbying health authorities for some time for an enhanced range of diagnostic and treatment services to be extended to Strabane including x-ray services and up until recently there were indications that progress on the issue was imminent.

"However, in response to the latest question I submitted to Health Minister Michael Mc Gimpsey on the issue, I have been told that because £900,000 has been spent on refurbishing the main Strabane Health Centre since 2001/2 and that given that the current Strabane premises were judged to be in good condition, detailed WHSSB proposals for a new Strabane Health and Care Centre project would not be submitted to the Department before the end of 2009 and by extension there would no plans for enhanced services to be considered in the interim.

"The outreaching of a wider range of medical services to Strabane should not have to wait until after 2009 and I will be now looking a meeting with the WHSSB to discuss the matter.

"Given the positive impact that this development would have in terms of helping to alleviate the bottleneck at Altnagelvin's Accident and Emergency, I trust that the WHSSB will be prepared to reconsider the timescale that it currently envisages for the outreaching of a wider range of medical services to Strabane," he said.

"The outreaching of a wider range of medical services to Strabane should not have to wait until after 2009 and I will be now looking a meeting with the WHSSB to discuss the matter."

– Pat Doherty