Write a commentNewry, Mourne and Down District Council are organising a major rally at 11am tomorrow Saturday 13 May at Middlebank, Newry to oppose any closure to the Emergency Department at Daisy Hill Hospital. It comes after a promise to hold a protest by Council Chairperson, Gillian Fitzpatrick at a Save Our Emergency Department meeting in Newry two weeks ago. Everyone is asked to attend to give their support to continued full services at Daisy Hill Hospital.
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Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Gillian Fitzpatrick said, “The rally will focus on supporting the retention of full acute services at Daisy Hill and in particular, the necessity of retaining the 24 hour Emergency Department service. This will build on the excellent work of the community campaign which has ensured that the Southern Trust has acknowledged the clinical need for this service”
Councillor Fitzpatrick continued, “Whilst our immediate concern is for Emergency Services, it is essential that in this era of centralisation of health services we must come together to fight for the people of Newry, Mourne and Down”.
Rural areas are particularly hit by centralising of services as the poor roads infrastructure and public transport system mean difficulties for both patients and relatives in accessing hospital services. The additional transport requirements will place an extra burden on what is universally agreed to be an already overstretched ambulance service. Even if an ambulance is immediately available many parts of Newry, Mourne and Down cannot be reached within the 8 minute target time for a category A life threatening emergency, problems which will be compounded if ambulances are tied up transporting patients to centralised services and if local Emergency Department services are reduced.
If you are attending you are asked to park in Newry City Centre car parks and make your way to the Rally stage located at Middlebank. The Council has arranged provision for disabled car parking only within the Rally site. Blue disabled badges will be checked and must be displayed on cars to avail of this facility. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) will control road traffic in and around the site during the Rally.
