HEALTH Minister Mike Nesbitt has stressed that "no acute hospital is in danger" after it was revealed that South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) could be reconfigured as a 'General Hospital' under new plans. 

Minister Nesbitt yesterday (Tuesday) launched a reconfiguration framework for hospitals, which aims to recategorize NI hospitals into four main types, including local hospitals; general hospitals; area hospitals; and regional centres.

According to the framework, which is being put to public consultation, SWAH will categorised as a 'General Hospital', alongside the Causeway and Daisy Hill Hospitals. 

Hospitals in this category will: "deliver defined secondary care services including unscheduled care, geared to a specific, more isolated geographical location."

Minister Nesbitt said that "reconfiguration is necessary", and that each hospital must fit into a network to deliver better outcomes for patients and staff.

However, concerns have been raised that these changes could impact the future of SWAH, with a local hospital campaign group warning that the hospital will be "formally downgraded".

In Stormont on Tuesday, Minister Nesbitt said that the reconfiguration will "improve the sustainability of hospital services and, ultimately, provide an assurance that none of our acute hospitals will close."

DUP MLA Deborah Erskine welcomed this assurance, but pressed the Minister on his plans to stabilise services and attract workforce to SWAH. 

The Minister said that these issues are "on his radar". 

"No acute hospital is, in any way, in danger; in fact, some of the proposals, such as the one to separate emergency from elective surgery, will secure their future," he said. 

Donal O'Cofaigh, from hospital campaign group Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) said the announcement is a "cause for concern".

"If implemented, the draft reconfiguration policy will formally downgrade South West Acute Hospital to that of a secondary status General Hospital," he said. 

"That can only be the cause of concern and disappointment to everyone in our community.

"In the coming days, the SOAS team will discuss and fully consider the ramifications and potential of this document - specifically through the prism of our goal of the sustainable restoration of timely access to emergency surgery for our community."