Write a comment
A proposal for Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry to be designated as an Area Hospital and to seek assistance from the Irish Government to save its medical services has been passed by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council despite unionist political concerns.
Daisy Hill is set to permanently lose its emergency general surgery element and become a “downgraded general hospital” under a Department of Health (DoH) reconfiguration plan.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) has this week approved a motion, which also calls for a public meeting locally amid a DoH consultation period drawing to an end later this month. Currently the nearest public meeting on the consultation is in Armagh city.
Bringing forward the proposal, Newry Councillor Killian Feehan said: “The consultation that is ongoing by the DoH is about hospitals creating a network for better outcomes.
“I find it really strange that the DoH had scheduled the whole series of public consultations across the North, but had opted to place the Southern Trust consultation in Armagh City.
“That has happened despite the draft recommendation that Daisy Hill should essentially be downgraded in status to a general hospital. I don’t believe this is an appropriate designation for Daisy Hill and I struggle to understand the department’s exclusion of Newry on the consultation for Daisy Hill…when I have attended marches in Newry when thousands of people turned up for Daisy Hill.”
He added: “The part of the motion, which calls on the DoH to engage with the Irish government to identify mechanisms for establishing Daisy Hill as a crossborder area hospital, I understand that for some councillors in the chamber that will be an uncomfortable proposition, but I make it purely on pragmatic reasons. This is not about politics it’s about pragmatism.”
Cllr Feehan gave some background on Daisy Hill and its catchment area "The Department of Health themselves have said that Newry and district has some of the highest prevalences of patients with heart failure and non diabetic hyperglycemia, as well as coronary heart disease, cancer, arterial fibrillation, hypertension and asthma, some of the highest rates of kidney disease, stroke, diabetes and COPD anywhere in the north.
"In addition to the health challenges on Daisy Hill, Daisy Hill is also recognised as demonstrating best clinical practice in a whole number of areas, most notably in Renal Care, where Daisy Hill's Renal Unit is ranked as the number one in the entire NHS network. In addition to that, there are incredibly over 800 years of amassed experience in the Daisy Hill Midwifery team alone and as recently as 2023 the Nuffield Trust recommended that Daisy Hill Hospital should be bolstered with quote 'hyper specialist services, including stroke services and specialist stroke services'."
The Hospital Reconfiguration Framework document was launched by Health Minister Mike Nesbitt (UUP) in October 2024. The proposals in the document outline Daisy Hill as a ‘general hospital’ and Craigavon as an ‘area hospital’.
Newry Councillor Cathal King added "Expanding Daisy Hill must be a priority. It serves a population beyond Newry, Mourne and Down, south Armagh and its proximity to the border means the Department of Health must continue working with the Irish Government to maximise its potential."
It is understood, a struggle to recruit and retain consultant general surgeons at the Newry hospital has played a key part in the proposals.
Slieve Gullion Councillor David Taylor said: “Irrespective of what party you belong to, we all certainly want to have the best health services available to all our constituents…and I know the local community want that as well.
“Daisy Hill is a first class service and I want to see that enhanced going forward.
“I do have a concern (with the motion). There is a political context to it I believe. “I do have issue regarding the governance and funding on how that would work out.
“It’s not just as straight forward as saying, let’s have a crossborder hospital, but that doesn’t mean I’m against crossborder co-operation.
“Whatever outcome there is from this, I hope it ends up with Daisy Hill being retained as a key component of the hospital network and that is something I have talked about to the previous Health Minister Robin Swann and the current Minster, Mike Nesbitt.”
Mournes Councillor Glyn Hanna added that his party would not be supporting the motion "until it would be explained to us how an area hospital that transcends across an international border, is going to work financially, we will not be supporting this"
Newry Councillor Doire Finn added: "I am really pleased to support Councillor Feehan's motion, residents across the city know how important Daisy Hill is and I hope that we will see a public meeting so that people can have their say."
An amendment from Alliance changing the motion “to establish crossborder health care opportunities” was not accepted with a majority vote approving Cllr Feehan’s motion.
The DoH public meeting will take place in the Armagh City Hotel on Tuesday 18 February from 7 to 9pm.
The Motion
This Council notes the Department of Health’s ongoing consultation on the hospital reconfiguration framework; expresses its dissatisfaction that the Department has failed to schedule a public meeting in Newry as part of their consultation exercise; registers its concern at the proposed designation of Daisy Hill Hospital as a General Hospital.
This Council calls on the Department of Health to schedule a public meeting in Newry on the hospital reconfiguration framework before the February 28th deadline; commits to submitting a consultation response that supports the designation of Daisy Hill as an Area Hospital and further calls for the Department of Health to engage with the Irish Government to identify mechanisms for establishing Daisy Hill as a cross-border Area Hospital.
Additional reporting: Columba O'Hare
