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A Public Meeting to discuss the future of Daisy Hill Hospital is taking place at Newry Town Hall tomorrow night 16 February at 7.30pm. All are welcome.
The meeting organised by Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has been called following a decision by the Southern Trust to move emergency surgery to Craigavon Hospital from the end of this month.
Mr McNulty along with Senator Erin McGreehan, Cllr David Taylor, Liz Kimmins MLA , John McArdle (Former Nurse of 35yrs at DHH), Tony McKeown (Newry Chamber) and Dr. Conor Patterson (NMDDC Enterprise Agency) will form the panel with the event being chaired by Eamonn McGrady, Down Community Health Committee.
Mr McNulty has met with local business and community representatives to discuss issues at the Hospital.
The MLA said "The very frustrating thing about this most recent withdrawal of services at Daisy Hill is that it further underlines the fact that decision makers at the Trust and the Department of Health in Belfast view Newry as being on the edge of the map, when in actual fact, Newry City is at the heart of the Belfast-Dublin corridor, with a hinterland of more than a quarter of a million people.
“Newry City’s Hospital at Daisy Hill should be expanded to become a key health hub for the people of Newry, and the border regions of counties Armagh, Down, Monaghan and Louth. On the European continent, we see the sharing of health resources and cross-border patient access, yet a person in need of emergency treatment in Omeath is required to go to Drogheda instead of 10 minutes up the road to Daisy Hill. Equally, after the 28th February, a person in need of emergency surgery in Kilkeel or Cullaville may have to pass Daisy Hill on the way to Craigavon to get the care they need. To me, that’s just not logical, and my fear is that lives could be put at risk as a consequence.
“The Trust and the Department of Health must also get creative and commit to expanding their recruitment search for surgical staff beyond their usual networks. There needs to be an international recruitment exercise to attract staff to Daisy Hill. This is an extraordinary situation, and it requires an extraordinary response."
Mr McNulty added “In addition to working with grass-roots organisations in our area, I have also been engaging with Stephen Donnelly, the Minister for Health in the Republic, with a view to opening up cross-border cooperation to protect and expand Daisy Hill. Through my engagement with Minister Donnelly, I am of the strong view that the North’s Department of Health would be pushing an open door if it engages constructively and collaboratively in search of sensible solutions for Daisy Hill.
“There is already a cross-border health arrangement at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. I’m not asking for special treatment for Newry & South Armagh, I’m simply asking for equality. If parties are serious about taking the politics out of health, then they must back that up with action, view this through a pragmatic lens, and join me in pursuing sensible solutions to expand and enhance Daisy Hill.”
