Information Governance Office,
Information & Records Department
Hugh McCloy
E-mail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
9 August 2010
Our Ref:
HMCC210610M
Dear Mr McCloy
Re: Request for information – Freedom of Information Act 2000
I refer to your e-mail dated 21 June 2010, requesting the following information:
‘Provide whether any health and safety measures have been put in place at the Antrim
Area Hospital, following the centralisation of accident and emergency services,
considering that the hospital was initially built to cater for 35,000 patients each year’.
Further to the above, please be advised that there was no risk identified associated with
increased patient throughput in the accident and emergency department at Antrim Area
Hospital.
The way the Trust has delivered services over the last 10 years has changed dramatically
and has continually been developing. Results of this are, for example, reduced length of
stay, increased day surgery, improved patient flow and services being more streamlined.
As previously advised, arrangements which have been made in order to accommodate the
services changes at Mid Ulster and Whiteabbey Hospitals include the following:
• additional physical space has been made available;
• 21 additional beds have been provided – 11 in-patient beds and a 10 bedded clinical
decision unit;
• a larger team of nurses and doctors are now available ; and
• additional necessary equipment has been transferred to the Antrim Unit.
Trust decisions in relation to the release of information that the Trust holds are governed by
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 and other
pieces of associated legislation.
The above information has been supplied to you for your personal use under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. It may also be used for the purposes of news reporting. However, you
Causeway House, Route Complex, 8e Coleraine Road, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, BT53 6BP
Tel: 028 2766 1227 Fax: 028 2766 1215 E-mail: xxxxxx.xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xxx
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do not have an automatic right to re-use the information, as it is subject to the Re-Use of
Public Sector Information Regulations 2005. For example, you must not use the information
supplied for commercial purposes, or publish or issue further copies of the information unless
you have been given permission from the Trust, in advance, to re-use the information in this
way. If you wish to apply for such permission, you should write to the Chief Executive at The
Cottage, 5 Greenmount Avenue, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, BT43 6DA.
Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you, however, we are currently
experiencing a high volume of requests. I trust that the above information satisfies your
request. However, should you require anything further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Nicola Lyons
Information Governance Office
Causeway House, Route Complex, 8e Coleraine Road, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, BT53 6BP
Tel: 028 2766 1227 Fax: 028 2766 1215 E-mail: xxxxxx.xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xxx
