Stay safe and follow advice: Health Minister
Date published:
The Health and Social Care system is planning for significant disruption to services across Northern Ireland tomorrow due to the impact of Storm Éowyn.

The Met Office has issued a red alert, which covers all of Northern Ireland from 7am on Friday until 2pm and is warning of very dangerous conditions and widespread disruption. The PSNI has declared the storm as a major incident.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: “I would urge people to follow the advice of the police and to stay home and stay safe until this major storm passes through.
“The key focus of the Health and Social Care system is on maintaining safe services for acutely unwell patients within our inpatient facilities and protecting urgent and emergency care.
“All parts of the health service are working hard on contingency planning and in providing vital services for those who are most vulnerable. Patients with GP appointments, booked for tomorrow, who have not already been contacted by their Practice, should phone their GP Practice for advice before making a decision to travel.
“Urgent and Emergency Care services will remain open as normal. Given the advice not to travel patients are encouraged to use the Phone First Service for their local HSC Trust before travelling to an Emergency Department.
“Of course, you should not hesitate to call 999 if you or someone you care for is experiencing a life-threatening emergency.
“The message to patients and service users is that they should assume any scheduled appointments and planned procedures are cancelled unless contacted by the Trust to advise otherwise. If your appointment is affected, Trust staff will be in touch to reschedule as soon as possible. I want to reassure patients, particularly those with the most serious conditions, that they will receive new appointments as soon as possible.”
It is expected that the severe disruption tomorrow will have an impact on services over the next few days.
The Minister added: “Staff in all parts of health and social care have been working under tremendous pressure in recent weeks and I know they will do all they can to provide vital services for patients and service users tomorrow, as they do each and every day. Please support them in their efforts and I hope everyone will stay safe.”
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