A plan to build a haematology centre in Belfast for cancer patients has been put at risk after the Department of Health (DoH) withdrew funding, the chief executive of the Belfast Trust has said.
The move was described as “disgraceful” during Thursday’s session of Stormont’s health committee after trust officials said the department had now decided to take back £1.5m from the project.
Belfast Health Trust had planned to move 80 staff out of an area of Belfast City Hospital to make way for the new unit, but having reviewed the proposal the DoH withdrew related funding.
The DoH said it will fund most of the additional cost and will work with the Trust to control growing costs of capital projects.
The project is now a year behind its planned opening date, which is currently put back to March 2031.
Belfast Trust Chief Executive Jennifer Welsh said: “The relocation of approximately 80 staff remains a challenge.
“The Department of Health was not satisfied with the trust’s options’ appraisal and has challenged the robustness of the capital cost estimate, resulting in £1.5m of funding having been withdrawn from the decant allocation.”
The DoH said the costs of the project have risen from £8m to £19m.
“We have indicated to the Trust that it should fund one element of this project (around £1.05m) from its expected general capital allocation of £20m per year over the next 2 years,” a department spokesperson said.