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The expression 'Doctors differ patients die' comes to mind, concerning reaction from public representatives, campaign groups and the Trust following yesterday's announcement from the Department of Health that emergency general surgery was to be moved permanently from Daisy Hill Hospital (See Emergency General Surgery).
Reactions included opposition to the decision "in the strongest possible terms" by Newry City Councillor Killian Feehan while on the other hand the Southern Trust welcomed the decision saying "Meeting the clinical standards to ensure the best outcomes for all patients living across the entire southern area, has been our absolute priority throughout this process"
Others commenting included Slieve Gullion Cllr David Taylor who was "angry and disappointed", MLA Justin McNulty who found it "appalling" and Newry City Councillor Geraldine Kearns and MLA Liz Kimmins who said it was "deeply disappointing and will cause great concern".
The Daisy Hill Future Group found the decision "regrettable" but highlighted 'wins' at the hospital including it becoming an elective overnight surgical hub. Cllr Francis Gallagher of SOS Daisy Hill was "very disappointed" and has called an emergency meeting of the group while Newry Councillor Doire Finn has asked that the "decision is reversed immediately".
Following yesterdays announcement last night's meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council saw Newry City Councillor Killian Feehan get support for his request for Council to urgently convene a meeting of the Southern Trust Working Group which will call for the CEO of the Trust to attend to explain "how and why the very clear and unambiguous position of our community has been so brazenly disregarded in the decision that has been announced by the Permanent Secretary"
Daisy Hill Future Group - we have developed a robust and comprehensive plan for the future
In a statement to the press the Daisy Hill Future Group said "While today’s announcement from Peter May regarding the relocation of Emergency General Surgery from Daisy Hill to Craigavon Area Hospital comes as no surprise, it is still a regrettable outcome. The decision was driven by circumstances that are indicative of the serious problems affecting our health service both locally and regionally. A failure to recruit and retain senior surgical and medical staff has necessitated a reconfiguration of surgical services across the north.
"The Daisy Hill Future Group has been seeking to address a raft of challenges facing our hospital and has been directly engaged with both the Southern Trust and the Department of Health to try to resolve these challenges and promote a positive development agenda. We have consulted widely with a range of healthcare experts and political representatives to find workable and sustainable solutions. We have been greatly encouraged by the public displays of support for Daisy Hill and the continued excellent service provided by the hospital and its staff.
"To that end, we have developed a robust and comprehensive plan for the future development of Daisy Hill Hospital as a general acute hospital serving the needs of our ever-growing population."
The Future Group statement continued "Our Emergency Department is no longer under threat and stands as a model of excellence in the provision of emergency care. We have lobbied for and secured significant investment for a much needed extensive electrical supply upgrade for the hospital and the transfer of the Council’s Monaghan Row site to the Daisy Hill Hospital estate to enable the expansion of services. The provision of an MRI scanner on site has been secured, with plans approved for the development of a significant MRI/CT diagnostic suite.
"Daisy Hill is now firmly established as an elective overnight surgical hub with greatly enhanced surgical capacity, thereby addressing the significant regional waiting list for elective surgery.
"We have worked closely with the Southern Trust to develop a comprehensive medical recruitment plan that has very successfully secured the services of a range of doctors, from consultants and middle grade to junior doctors, who will shortly take up post and will greatly enhance the profile of Daisy Hill as a vibrant training and teaching hospital.
"We have also been very much involved in the planning of a new medical model for the hospital which will address both inpatient and outpatient needs on site and across the community.
"The Daisy Hill Future Group continues to engage directly with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service to find workable solutions that will enhance the capacity of the ambulance service to meet the needs of the people of South Armagh, Newry and South Down. The continued absence of a politically accountable government is preventing much needed investment in this most vital of services.
"The Daisy Hill Future Group is fully committed to continuing the work of building a positive future for Daisy Hill Hospital as a vital acute facility in the public health estate across this island. We will work with all agencies to ensure that the communities served by Daisy Hill receive the very best health care possible, and our commitment to supporting the staff at Daisy Hill is absolute."
Southern Trust - additional theatre time at Daisy Hill
Welcoming the decision by the Department of Health Southern Trust Medical Director Dr Stephen Austin said: “Meeting the clinical standards to ensure the best outcomes for all patients living across the entire southern area, has been our absolute priority throughout this process.
“I commend our surgical team who are constantly working to improve their service and have developed this new model for emergency general surgery to give patients the safe, high quality and modern care that they deserve. Delivering emergency general surgery from one site helps us to meet the latest regional standards set out in the Review of General Surgery. It is also more sustainable and with successful recruitment of new surgical consultants in recent months, shows that it will be more attractive in recruiting and retaining staff.
“We acknowledge concerns raised, particularly from some living in the Newry, Mourne, South Down and South Armagh areas about access to the service and understand that people would value a service closer to home, but we must always prioritise quality of care and patient safety.”
Cathrine Reid, Southern Trust Director of Surgery and Clinical Services added “Patients should continue to phone first or attend their nearest Emergency Department with any seriously urgent symptoms. Daisy Hill continues as a Type 1 consultant led ED, assessing all medical and surgical patients, 24/7.
“We have pathways for those who need transferred to Craigavon, to be directly admitted to the surgical ward, so it is important that Newry and Mourne patients always attend Daisy Hill first to benefit from this process. It is rare for someone to need very immediate surgery for a life-threatening condition, but we can assure local people that we have arrangements in place for the patient to be operated on at Daisy Hill should this happen.”
“With emergency surgery concentrated at Craigavon, we now have additional theatre time at Daisy Hill to benefit more people waiting on planned procedures. We have excellent surgical facilities at Daisy Hill andour surgical team has been working hard to gradually increase theatre activity over recent months and develop our plans as a regional elective overnight stay centre.”
Justin McNulty - Unelected and unaccountable civil servants making decisions
Newry & Armagh MLA Justin McNulty said: “I find the decision made by the Department of Health appalling. The withdrawal of Emergency General Surgery was put to a public consultation, and of the 12,000 responses, 97% were opposed to the withdrawal. In addition, 10,000 people took to the streets of Newry to march in opposition to the moves – how then can the Department justify approving this decision in light of such overwhelming opposition? It’s a real kick in the teeth for the people of Newry, South Armagh and South Down who have objected so strongly to the proposals to strip vital services from our hospital.
“The bottom line here is that unelected and unaccountable civil servants in the Department of Health are making a decision that impact upon the lives of people in Newry, South Armagh, and South Down. We desperately need for a local Health Minister in post to reverse these dangerous decisions, which is why I have called on Sinn Fein to make it clear that they will grab the Health Ministry with both hands to reverse this decision."
“I am now making that call again. SF need to do the right thing, nominate a Health Minister designate, and signal that they will repel these attacks on Daisy Hill.”
MLA Liz Kimmins/ Cllr Geraldine Kearns - Cause of great concern
“This decision to remove Emergency General surgery from Daisy Hill is deeply disappointing and will cause great concern across all communities served by the hospital.
“The Southern Trust must be clear about what real steps they are taking to secure the safe delivery of services at Daisy Hill now and into the future.
“We will continue to work with other parties and experts through the Daisy Hill future group to protect Daisy Hill for all in our community.
“Our Health service is facing huge challenges due to a lack of resources and understaffing, this needs to be urgently addressed.
"We need the Executive restored now and all parties working together to invest in our health service to help it deal with the unprecedented challenges it is facing.”
Cllr Killian Feehan - Verdict of the people being ignored
Referring to last evenings 8 January meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, when a letter sent from the Permanent Health Secretary was produced, Cllr Feehan said "I want to at the outset register my opposition to that decision in the strongest possible terms. In his letter the Permanent Secretary has cited a shortage of general surgeons as a partial justification for the decision but it's worth bearing in mind that when this service collapsed at Daisy Hill in January 2022, the Southern Trust had made no attempt to recruit general surgeons in the three years preceding the collapse, they last attempted to recruit in 2019. And on top of that, the claim that there are a shortage of general surgeons across the board is undermined by the fact that NHS England have reported a 35% increase in the number of general surgeons on their books since 2011.
"The Permanent Secretary's letter acknowledges that this decision was made after consultation, but what the letter fails to speak to is the fact that of the 11,000 + consultation responses 97% of those responses were opposed to the withdrawal proposal. And that's not to mention the 10,000 people who took to the streets of Newry last July to march in opposition to the decision as well. So that raises a very simple question in my mind. Why is the verdict of the people of this earlier being seemingly ignored by both the Trust and the Department of Health at the same time that the Permanent Secretary made it clear in a letter to this council that the views of local stakeholders will be taken into account.
"I would like to propose that an urgent meeting of the Southern Trust working group is convened, and that the chief executive of the Southern trust is called before that working group to explain how and why the very clear and unambiguous position of our community has been so brazenly disregarded in the decision that has been announced by the Permanent Secretary in this letter."
Cllr Doire Finn - Reverse the decision
"I think this Council has been very strong as a group in showing how important Daisy Hill is to each and every one of our constituents. And I would just like to say I think that's a really big strength of this Council that we have done that.
"I would like to propose that this council write to the Permanent Secretary to ask that that decision is reversed immediately."
Cllr David Taylor - Community concerns have been ignored
"It's very clear that as a community, as elected representatives we're both angry and disappointed that the decision has been taken to sign this off as a permanent decision. Probably not surprised, to be honest because we have all attended various consultation events and public events and despite the passion that's been shown by the community regarding this subject, and indeed regarding Daisy Hill in general, it's been clear that the concerns that we have raised, the legitimate concerns that representatives and the community have raised have been largely been ignored and unfortunately, we're in this situation today because of a lack of long term strategic planning and investment by the Department of Health and the Southern Health Trust in relation to Daisy Hill Hospital and we are bearing the brunt of that failure, at this very point, and it does outline the need for an executive to be in place as well because whilst an executive will never cure all the ills that exists within the health service, It certainly will at least provide that leadership that's needed to take long term strategic planning forward"
Francis Gallagher SOS Daisy Hill - welcomes Council's agreement to ask Trust CEO to meet Councillors
Francis Gallagher Chairman of SOS Daisy Hill has convened an emergency meeting of his committee tomorrow 10 January to discuss the announcement by the Permanent Secretary of Health on the permanent removal of Emergency Surgery at Daisy Hill.
Mr Gallagher said “I am very disappointed with this announcement and our committee will meet to discuss a new plan of action to condemn this decision which completely goes against the objections submitted by nearly 12,000 people on the SHSSB proposals to remove Emergency Surgery at Daisy Hill Hospital.”
Mr Gallagher congratulated the Council on the recommendation to invite the CEO of the SHSST to attend a special Council meeting to discuss the removal Emergency Surgery and why the substantial replies to the Public Consultation have not been considered properly in the process.
