A proposed haematology centre for cancer patients at Belfast City Hospital faces significant delays after the Department of Health withdrew £1.5 million in funding, according to BBC News. The Belfast Health Trust had planned to relocate approximately 80 staff members to create space for the new unit, but the department rejected the trust's options appraisal and challenged the robustness of capital cost estimates. The project is now expected to open in March 2031, a year later than previously scheduled.
Belfast Health Trust Chief Executive Jennifer Welsh told Stormont's health committee on Thursday that the funding withdrawal posed a substantial risk to the project.
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appraisal and has challenged the robustness of the capital cost estimate, resulting in £1.5m of funding having been withdrawn from the decant allocation.Welsh said the trust was exploring alternative ways to fund the relocation of the 80 staff members within Belfast City Hospital and that the issue was being escalated to the permanent secretary at the Department of Health.
The haematology centre has been a priority for cancer care in Northern Ireland for several years. In September 2025, the Health Minister indicated the new regional ward was intended to support local CAR T-cell therapy, a specialist cancer treatment. By February 2026, Belfast Trust confirmed that the business case for a separate upgrade to the existing regional haematology unit had been approved, with funding available through general capital, though a firm start date had not been provided at that time.
Why is the isolation issue so critical?
Haematology patients undergoing cancer treatment have severely compromised immune systems and require strict isolation to prevent life-threatening infections. Democratic Unionist Party assembly member Diane Dodds raised concerns about current conditions at Belfast City Hospital.
They are very worried about the conditions that haematology patients currently have within the city hospital and the lack of isolation for patients whose systems are very, very vulnerable.She emphasised that the new centre represented significant hope for vulnerable cancer patients and that delays risked putting them at further risk.
Alliance assembly member Nuala McAllister criticised the Department of Health's decision to withdraw funding.
We are talking about patients who are undergoing some quite intense treatment, and with very specialised staff. We are talking about very vulnerable patients - severely immuno-compromised... and the department who receives over half of the executive's budget has decided that £1.5m cannot move ahead for a new cancer unit for some of our most immuno-compromised cancer patients.McAllister described the funding withdrawal as
disgraceful.
What is the broader context for cancer care delays?
Northern Ireland's cancer services face mounting pressures. A cancer patient previously warned that extended waits for diagnostic imaging are dangerously long, with a shortage of radiologists forcing diagnostic imaging to be sent to Australia. Similar infrastructure challenges are affecting other parts of the UK; Aberdeen's Anchor Cancer Centre has been delayed again, with the cancer centre now not opening until May 2027, having seen its budget balloon from £134 million to £438.6 million.
The Belfast haematology centre project has a long history. A 2016 report by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority noted that a refurbishment business case for the Belfast City Hospital haematology ward had been submitted in May 2014, citing the need for more space and improved compliance with care guidance. The current proposal represents an attempt to address those longstanding concerns through a dedicated new facility.
What happens next?
The Department of Health's permanent secretary will be engaged to address the funding issue, though no decision date has been announced. Welsh said the trust would continue to explore funding options for relocating the 80 staff members. The department has been approached for a response to the funding withdrawal.
