Mr Donnelly, who is Deputy Chair of Stormont’s Health Committee, has said: “This is incredibly concerning news that will no doubt come as a great disappointment for the many families that have campaigned tirelessly for the development of this new ward.

“The plans were drawn up, planning was granted, and for those people to now be left in limbo isn’t good enough.

“It begs to question the Health Minister and his department’s priorities, and whether we would’ve ended up here had finances not been so stretched due to overspending in terms of capital expenditure in health. In that sense, we await the findings of the department’s review on capital spending.

“In the meantime, the focus must now be on ensuring children’s services and facilities that already exist at Altnagelvin and elsewhere are secure and able to deliver the highest possible quality of care, as well as looking ahead to see how they can be improved.

“The children having to make use of these facilities are often going through some of the most difficult times in their lives, and we should be doing all we can to make their experience as comfortable and stress-free as we possibly can. We as a party will be writing to the Western Trust seeking clarity on the effect this will have on services despite this setback, and to the families who have been lobbying for this.”