The Department of Health (DoH) has decided that births will no longer be performed at Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, County Londonderry.
Consolidating maternity services at Antrim Area Hospital was given the go-ahead by the DoH permanent secretary.
All births in the area should be permanently relocated to the Antrim site, according to a recommendation from the Northern Trust.
The department announced that Causeway Hospital will keep its antenatal and postnatal clinics and improve them.
According to Permanent Secretary Peter May, the choice was made to guarantee reliable, dependable, and sustainable care for expectant mothers and infants in the trust area.
The Northern Trust board made the suggestion following a 14-week public consultation.
The Causeway Coast and Glens Council area's birth rate has decreased year over year, according to the trust.
Within the next 20 years, the area's birth rates are predicted to decline by 11%.
The trust had stated that the area's maternity services were "vulnerable and unsustainable.".
According to the Department of Health, "[the] unsustainability of the current Causeway maternity unit relates to] declining birth numbers at the hospital and related difficulties in recruiting and retaining consultants and other staff.". ".
The permanent secretary declared: "Providing safe care for our population must be our health service's top priority.
"The mothers and infants in the Northern Trust area will benefit most from this choice," the decision reads. ".
Maintaining the current level of service between the Causeway and Antrim sites, he claimed, "would not be sustainable.".
Avoiding planned change would only result in unplanned and imposed change, said Mr. May.
It is now more challenging to provide consistent care at the Causeway Maternity Unit because of the reliance on temporary and locum staff.
"Conditions of the approval include making planned capacity changes at Antrim Hospital as described in the public consultation," the Department of Health stated. " .
The trust will also need to give top priority to creating a temporary, three-bed midwife-led unit in Antrim.
In advance of longer-term plans for a new-build women's and children's unit, the department stated that this will provide additional capacity.
In describing the department's decision-making procedure, Mr. May said he had examined the trust's consultation results in accordance with its policy and guidance on change or withdrawal of service.
The wider health transformation agenda, which acknowledges that adjustments must be made to ensure the sustainability of services, is consistent with it, he added.
The Northern Trust has successfully implemented a significant, long-lasting change to how one of its key services will be provided in less than a year with little fuss or opposition.
That is exceptional in Northern Ireland.
Despite years of talk about changing the health care system, not much has actually happened.
Prof. Rafael Bengoa stated that Northern Ireland had "a stark choice" most recently in 2016.
The man who presided over the most recent local healthcare review stated that people could "either embrace transformation and work to create a modern sustainable service, or resist change and see services deteriorate to the point of collapse over time.".
Three different health trusts are currently engaged in this conflict between these two opposing points of view.
The Southern and Western Trusts' long history of resisting change at Daisy Hill and the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) has now led to a rush to change how some services are provided, a move that the BMA has compared to "falling off the cliff edge.".
The change "feels unplanned and out of control," according to some people.
Protest demonstrations and debates have been led by politicians.
However, the situation is different in the Northern Trust.
According to officials, change is being implemented that is deliberate, planned, and intentional before maternity services reach the point of "collapse.". .
Though consultations were held with all the health trusts, it appears that Causeway will be able to keep its antenatal and postnatal assessment center while consolidating all deliveries at Antrim Area Hospital. .
Although not to the same degree as what was seen in Enniskillen and Newry, there has been some public opposition.
All other health trusts must be in awe as they observe the Northern Trust.
How did it accomplish what the Western and Southern trusts were unable to?
It appears that Causeway's lack of political interference makes a significant difference.
The DUP's Simon Hamilton, who was the health minister at the time, stated in 2016 that political consensus was essential for the future of NI's healthcare system.
Apparently, saying that than actually doing it.
