THE director of Women’s and Children’s services at the Western Health and Social Care Trust has said there are no plans to merge neo-natal services across the Trust during the second wave of Covid-19, but the situation is being monitored daily.

Deirdre Mahon revealed that the Trust is challenged in many areas due to the impact of Covid-19 as a number of staff members are currently self-isolating.

The Trust is having daily meetings to ensure that the safety of all patients in the Trust area is maintained, including at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).

Paediatric and neonatal in-patient services at the SWAH were originally merged and moved to Altnagelvin as part of a multi-phase plan to deal with the expectant surge in Covid-19 cases during the first coronavirus wave. The closure of these services at SWAH was part of the first phase..

The Director said: “The Western Trust continues to be extremely challenged in many service areas due to absence and the impact of Covid-19, with a large number of staff currently self-isolating.

“This has in particular impacted neonatal services in the Trust in both Altnagelvin and in the SWAH, and our teams continue to meet daily to ensure the safety of all patients in our care.

“At this time, there are no plans to merge both units similarly to what happened in the first surge of the pandemic.

“Plans are in place to address staffing challenges, and a recruitment process is under way.

“All services across the Western Trust, and across Northern Ireland, continue to be monitored and reviewed on a daily basis, and are being flexed up and down in line with staffing capacity and Covid-19 pressures,” she said.