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‘Action, not delay’ required over mental health unit Posted: 7:00 pm April 29, 2021
By Alan Rodgers
A LACK of funding has resulted in plans for a proposed new £25 million acute mental health unit at Omagh Hospital having to be ‘temporarily’ shelved.
The new unit, which is estimated to cost in the region of £25 million, is being seen as vital to address what is expected to be a sharp rise in mental health issues after the coronavirus pandemic.
It is earmarked to include a 26-bed acute mental health unit, with six integrated psychiatric intensive care beds and a therapy day centre, an eight-bed alcohol and drug treatment unit and a 20-bed unit to facilitate Older People’s Mental Health, Dementia and a therapeutic hub.
New guidance is expected to be published imminently and, to allow preparations to be made in care settings, will take effect from next week.
The Health Minister said, “I fully recognise the desire for more visiting.
“Receiving a face-to-face visit from a loved one is so important to people who are unwell, elderly or vulnerable.
“Of course, we also have to remain vigilant about the continuing threat from the virus and strike the right balance.”
The new guidance will include a new approach to supporting safe and proportionate increased visiting in care homes.
This will include updated arrangements for the safe management of care home residents receiving visitors, as well as residents being able to visit other households and community facilities and take part in excursions.
The Sunflower Bar cannot reopen tomorrow. Picture by Ann McManus Rebecca Black, PA 29 April, 2021 18:16
Hospitality bosses have expressed frustration after a number of venues with outdoor areas were told they do not conform to coronavirus rules.
Outdoor hospitality, non-essential retail, gyms and swimming pools are set to reopen tomorrow.
But a number of bars say they will not be able to reopen after their outdoor areas were deemed to have too many walls.
Pedro Donald, owner of the Sunflower Bar in Belfast, said its outdoor area has the same set-up as last year, when it was permitted to open.
He told the PA news agency he spent thousands of pounds ordering in stock for the reopening date which was announced two weeks ago, but that was thrown into uncertainty on Wednesday when council staff told him the outdoor area does not comply with requirements.