Council Working Groups and Health Trusts Haven't Met in 3 Years

Working groups on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council have not met with Health Trusts for over three years.

The Council had agreed in 2017 for selected members to meet with the Southern and South Eastern Health Trust to discuss service provision to ratepayers.

However, a report this week at the NMDDC environment committee has shown the working groups have not met the Trusts since at least 2022 due to a “lack of attendance”.

A council officer told the chamber: “My understanding is that the working group meeting in February 2023 didn’t proceed due to the lack of attendance at the working groups.”

The report, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) shows the “last meetings of the council’s health working groups were scheduled for February and March 2023, but did not proceed”.

The groups had initially been agreed some eight years ago (August 2017) to meet with the Trusts twice annually with the NI Ambulance Service also invited.

The council area has seen health concerns in that time including the Southern Health Trust recommending (September 2023) emergency general surgery being permanently moved from Daisy Hill Hospital to Craigavon.

The decision faced fierce opposition from communities in south Down and south Armagh.

The officer added: ”The purpose of this report is really to re-engage those working groups. The Trust had attended the council meeting last November without a working group preceding that.

“The Trusts discussion with working groups should take place six weeks prior to the council meetings where questions and issues are discussed and can then feed back into the council meetings. The Trusts had previously been engaged with this process.

“It is proposed that the next working group meetings with the Trusts and NIAS would be scheduled for February 2026 with a special council meeting in March.”