Mr Ian Brown, Chair of the Ulster Independent Clinic said;
“The Ulster Independent Clinic is working closely with our colleagues throughout the Northern Ireland health sector to support the Covid-19 pandemic emergency planning here.
“In light of the unprecedented challenge resulting from the virus outbreak, this has meant facilitating urgent surgery and treatment for non Covid-19 related disease including cancers. Initially we have accommodated services from the Bridgewater Suite in the Belfast City Hospital at the Ulster Clinic. The combined efforts of the NHS and Clinic staff to transfer the services over a weekend has allowed important treatments and care to continue with minimal interruption for patients. Additionally the Clinic has made available 55 patient rooms and 5 theatres to accommodate surgery for urgent conditions which is provided by medical colleagues and the Clinic team. These services are being delivered on a cost recovery basis and currently the HSC Trusts are identifying and scheduling the patients for treatment at the Ulster Independent Clinic. We continue to keep this support under review and remain willing to help in any way we can at this unpredictable time. “We at the Clinic are committed to playing our part in maintaining a functioning health service and meeting the medical needs of patients across Northern Ireland during these challenging times. It has involved a lot of hard work and dedication from all our staff and I would like to thank them all for their concerted efforts in making this support possible at this difficult time.”