MLA's assured that Daisy Hill Maternity Services are staying

Newry and Armagh MLA's Liz Kimmins, Conor Murphy and Justin McNulty have said that they have received assurances from the Southern Trust that maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital are not being removed. It follows a period of uncertainty when mothers and babies were diverted to Craigavon Hospital in September.

The MLA's met with the Southern Trust Chief Executive and senior management on Friday. Liz Kimmins said “Encouraged to hear categorically from the Trust that Daisy Hill maternity services are not being removed and serious efforts are being made to stabilise services across the Trust area.

"My colleague Conor Murphy MLA and I made it very clear that improved communication and meaningful partnership working with midwives and clinicians must be key moving forward.

"It is very apparent that we need maternity services delivered at both Daisy Hill and Craigavon to serve the needs of mothers and babies across the Southern Trust area, and I will continue to work hard with the Health Minister and his department to ensure services are protected in the long term”.

Justin McNulty said “I had a very frank meeting with the Chief Executive of the Southern Trust and the Executive Director of Nursing & Midwifery, where I secured a direct assurance that there will be no attempt to pull maternity services from Daisy Hill Hospital.

“I made it very clear to the Trust that their poor communication to staff and the general public have given rise to unnecessary anxiety about the future of services across our community.

“I raised the need for the Southern Trust to proactively reassure mothers, babies, and midwifery teams, that they will be supported and that services they rely on and provide will be protected and secured.

“After an uncertain and tumultuous few weeks for people in Newry, South Armagh, and South Down, it is a huge relief to have secured a commitment from the Southern Trust that they will be stabilising and reinforcing maternity services at Daisy Hill.

Mr. McNulty finished by saying: “Your local SDLP team will always be in your corner and remain fighting for the best interests of Daisy Hill Hospital and everybody who relies on it.”