Member's statement: Mental Health Facility: Omagh
Member's statement by Mr Tom Buchanan on .
- MLA
- Mr Tom Buchanan
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 21 May 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Mental Health Facility: Omagh
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4491370
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Mental health was once branded the Cinderella of the health service. In the Western Health and Social Care Trust area, mental health is still the Cinderella of the health service. A proposal for a new acute mental health facility in Omagh was first put forward in 2010 as part of a three-pronged approach with the development of the local enhanced hospital and primary care complex, which opened in 2017. At that time, however, the construction of the acute mental health facility was pushed back into the second phase of the development. In 2022, the Department of Health prioritised two other mental health facilities and, to date, unfortunately, the development of the vital facility in the Western Trust area has not commenced and is continually being delayed because of funding restraints. At that stage, the Western Trust was asked to refresh its existing business case for the proposed acute mental health facility and doing so required considerable resources. The business case development group had to be reformed in order to update its proposals. For many years, the community in Omagh and the surrounding areas has been calling for the completion of the new, enhanced 26-bed unit. The Western Trust has the largest number of mental health admissions of all the trusts in Northern Ireland. The figures for 2022-23 showed that there were 1,542 mental health admissions, which was almost double that of the next highest trust area, with 821 admissions. The statistics are stark, and they show the reality of how badly the acute mental health facility in Omagh is needed, especially given that the Western Trust catchment area covers the largest geographical area of all the trusts across Northern Ireland. Mental health is a real part of our overall health and well-being, and it impacts on how we think and act daily. Yet, the infrastructure to support mental health remains inadequate, and many people in the Western Trust area cannot access the support that they need. Given the fallout from the Omagh bomb, there are many people in West Tyrone who, today, are still looking to use a mental health facility that is not available for them in the Western Trust area. The need for that mental health facility is greater than ever. The people of the Western Trust area deserve to have access to such care, which will, ultimately, have a life-changing and positive impact on their life. I call on the Minister of Health to, again, consider the establishment of the facility in Omagh as a priority and to see that it is delivered for the people in the Western Trust area.
434 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.05 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.98).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.98 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.02 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.77 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.20 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.03 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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