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A spokesperson for the Southern Trust has said that the Stroke Unit at Daisy Hill Hospital is not out of action but that due to temporary staffing issues the Southern Trust has "put in place a short term arrangement which means that patients requiring acute stroke care and treatment will be taken to Craigavon Area Hospital by ambulance for initial treatment." The Trust claim that the divert to Craigavon will be in place for two weeks.
The statement follows a comment from MLA Justin McNulty in a report yesterday on Newry.ie that "staff at the hospital have reported that Daisy Hill’s Stroke Unit is temporarily out of action due to insufficient staff coverage"
The Southern Trust spokesperson said “Due to temporary staffing issues, we have put in place a short term arrangement which means that patients requiring acute stroke care and treatment will be taken to Craigavon Area Hospital by ambulance for initial treatment. We have contingency arrangements in place should a patient arrive at Daisy Hill ED and is thought to have stroke symptoms.
“The stroke unit at Daisy Hill hospital remains open for admission of other suitable stroke patients.
“Those who need specialist acute treatment will be transferred to Craigavon or the Royal Victoria hospitals and once stable will be transferred back to the stroke unit at Daisy Hill for their ongoing care.
“Our priority is to ensure that patients continue to access safe, high quality care and treatment from our specialist stroke staff at all times.
“It is expected that this divert will be in place for two weeks."
The spokesperson emphasised that you should always phone 999 with suspected stroke symptoms.
Stroke FAST campaign
Face, Arm, Speech, and Time to call 999.
Face – Has their face fallen on one side? Can they smile?
Arms – Can they raise both arms and keep them there?
Speech – Is their speech slurred?
Time – Time to call 999 if you see any single one of these signs.
