Write a comment
Local MLA Justin McNulty has expressed his deep concern over Maternity provision at Daisy Hill Hospital and has warned the Southern Trust to think twice before pulling maternity services out of the Newry hospital.
The Newry and Armagh MLA was speaking after staff at Daisy Hill’s maternity unit were told in an emergency meeting with Trust management to prepare for the imminent withdrawal of maternity services at the hospital.
Justin McNulty MLA said: “On Tuesday 15th October, I was contacted by several members of the midwifery team at Daisy Hill Hospital, who told me that they were pulled into an emergency meeting with management to discuss the future of maternity services at the hospital.
“Staff were given 20 minutes notice for the meeting. There was no independent trade union representation, and it was made clear to midwives that the Trust were moving to pull maternity services out of the hospital.
“That afternoon, I confronted the Health Minister in the Assembly, and he said he had no knowledge of plans to withdraw maternity services at Daisy Hill. If it is the case that the Southern Trust is going rogue on this, then the Health Minister needs to come down on them like a tonne of bricks.
“I am glad that I threw the cat amongst the pigeons through my intervention with the Minister. The word I am getting back is that the Trust are now under massive pressure, and I want to keep them under pressure. It’s not too late for the Trust to do the right thing.
“The Trust promised us that maternity services at Daisy Hill were safe. They should take a very deep breath before they break that promise. If they plough ahead, the Trust needs to know that they will have a massive backlash on their hands.
“I have hope that with continued pressure, the Southern Trust will pull a last minute U-turn on this issue and pretend that it was never their plan in the first place. I can live with the Trust’s press machine calling me every name under the sun. What I can’t live with is the prospect of the wellbeing of mothers and babies potentially being put in harm’s way because of the failures of Southern Trust management.”
