No money for new emergency department, says minister
Robbie Butler says a new ED at Altnagelvin hospital in Derry is a priority but he does not have the money to pay for it.
Health Minister Robbie Butler has declared that there is presently no funding to construct a new emergency department (ED) at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry. The ED, currently the longest-running 24-hour facility in Northern Ireland, was initially designed to handle around 40,000 patients annually but now sees up to double that number.
Despite efforts by the Western Health and Social Care Trust to alleviate wait times, they remain excessively long. Butler visited the hospital on Wednesday and emphasized that a new ED would be a top priority if funds become available. The project, estimated to cost around £73 million, was one of two high-priority capital initiatives for the trust.
In July 2025, the trust presented revised proposals to the Department of Health, with Butler's predecessor, Mike Nesbitt, acknowledging that any advancement would rely on the availability of both capital funding and operational expenses. The Northern Ireland executive has yet to approve a budget for the current year, attributing the shortfall to the UK's devolution funding formula.
Additional funding of approximately £1.5 billion will be provided in three installments, with £525 million available in the current year. However, Butler disputes the UK Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant's assessment, stating that the executive is not adequately funded as per the agreed level of need.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
