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Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty challenged the Southern Trust yesterday over plans to consolidate Daisy Hill Hospital inpatient maternity services at Craigavon Area Hospital. He called for a clear, time-bound commitment to restoring maternity services at Daisy Hill and questioned whether Craigavon can safely absorb the extra births.
The number of elected representatives with speaking rights, and the number of people in the audience, reflected the magnitude of the decision. A large representation from the SOS Daisy Hill Committee, which organised the rally on Sunday 25 October, was also present.
McNulty began by referring to that rally and paying tribute to the committee. He said: “I want to pay tribute to the SOS Committee, many of whom are here, for the incredible work they have done.”
He told the Board: “In speaking before you today, I firmly challenge the rationale and fairness behind the potential shift of maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital to Craigavon. Of course, patient safety must be paramount. However, how will patient safety not be compromised for mothers in labour, who may be experiencing complications, being forced to drive an extra hour on bad roads to get to the hospital? Or the mothers whose babies arrive prematurely and urgently need medical attention?”
He also asked what would happen if a woman presented at the Daisy Hill Emergency Department in advanced labour or with a serious obstetric emergency, and what arrangements would exist for emergency transfers to Craigavon. He asked what assurance the Board could give that emergency pathways would be staffed and tested before the change.
On the word temporary, Mr McNulty said: “Temporary closure is a line we’ve heard before. The old tried and tested roadmap for service removal. If this closure is temporary, where is the clear, measurable or time-bound commitment to restoring inpatient maternity services at Daisy Hill? What does temporary actually mean? A general commitment to restoring services when staffing permits is not the same as a credible recovery plan with measurable objectives, accountability and timescales.”
He said the closure was a workforce planning issue. “This closure is the result of a workforce planning issue that advocates have been raising alarm bells on for years and has been ignored for too long.”
McNulty noted that the vulnerability of the obstetrics and gynaecology service has been recognised within the Department of Health’s Support and Intervention Framework since November 2024. He asked what recruitment and retention initiatives had been put in place over the past two years, whether regional or cross-border support had been explored, and whether alternative consultant staffing arrangements and cross-site working models had been fully considered. He added: “I have long said that Daisy Hill needs to be expanded to become a hub hospital serving its natural hinterland on a cross-border basis.”
He also said consolidating services at Craigavon does not resolve the shortage of consultant obstetricians, and asked what assurance there was that the same vulnerabilities would not later affect Craigavon. He said: “We need to see more serious efforts to recruit consultants and attract consultant obstetricians to the Southern Trust, to create the conditions to attract these vital workers. Suspending maternity services at Daisy Hill is not the answer.”
On capacity at Craigavon, he said: “Secondly, where is the patient safety for patients in the medical and surgical wards at Craigavon whose care will be impacted if Craigavon struggles to accommodate a doubling of the number of births they already had from this transfer? The proposed consolidation involves transferring all inpatient maternity activity from Daisy Hill to Craigavon. This represents a substantial additional workload.”
He said the Trust must show adequate capacity for the whole maternity service, including delivery suite rooms, inpatient beds, midwifery staffing, consultant obstetric cover, anaesthetic cover, emergency theatre capacity and neonatal services. He asked what modelling had been done to show Craigavon can absorb the additional activity at peak demand and during simultaneous obstetric emergencies.
Mr McNulty said the Trust’s own published FAQs indicate that several assessments and arrangements remain in development. These include travel-time analysis, equality screening and rural-needs assessments, quality-impact assessments, additional bed and delivery suite capacity at Craigavon, workforce requirements and emergency pathways for women presenting at Daisy Hill. He asked: “How can the Board make an informed decision about the safety and appropriateness of consolidation without having completed and scrutinised all relevant assessments?”
He also asked whether the Board would receive the full assessments before approving the proposal and whether they would be made public. He said: “It is important that the Board is not simply accepting assurances but has sight of the actual evidence supporting the decision.”
On staffing, he asked: “Additionally, what will happen to the 80 staff members at Daisy Hill who are going to be impacted by this move.” He said he had spoken with senior midwives who had been warning about the issue for a long time, and that he had raised their concerns, which had been dismissed.
Mr McNulty asked whether the Trust had carried out a full assessment of the cumulative and longer-term impact of removing inpatient maternity services from Daisy Hill, given their links with obstetrics and gynaecology, anaesthetics, theatres, paediatrics, neonatal services and emergency care.
He also turned to political leadership. “It is not acceptable to scapegoat this Trust or the Minister or the Department of Health. It is unacceptable to me that the First Ministers, who have been very visible and vocal on other issues recently, have been silent about maternity services at Daisy Hill.”
He concluded: “Expectant mothers, families and staff affected deserve transparency and meaningful engagement, rather than simply being asked to accept assurances that consolidation is necessary.”
