SOS Daisyhill ask public to show their support at Public Rally

The SOS Daisyhill campaign group are asking as many people as possible to attend the pubic rally this Sunday 25 June 2023. People are being asked to assemble at Marcus Square Hill Street Newry for 2pm and to walk to Daisy Hill Hospital. 

Francis Gallagher from the SOS campaign group stated "Our recent meeting with Peter May, the head of the Department of Health, was inconclusive. Promises were made from the Department to halt the meltdown that has been taking place at Daisy Hill but we will not be satisfied until we see action on the ground. All life saving services taken away need to be reinstated and the hospital needs to be enhanced further. We were told by the Department that if a member of the public takes a stroke and calls an ambulance, it will be on divert to Craigavon for the patient to get initial investigation and treatment but if a stroke patient presents at Daisy Hill Hospital in a car, diagnosis and treatment will be given there. This is an unbelievable situation because time is critical in the treatment of a stroke, so a stroke patient in an ambulance on divert to Craigavon hospital could have a worse medical outcome than the patient arriving at Daisy Hill? Full stroke services need returned to Daisy Hill immediately."

Gallagher  questions if agreement has been made at senior level to downgrade the hospital "Our SOS Daisyhill campaign group delegation asked Department officials does their vision for Daisy Hill include it to be a full local acute hospital? We were not satisfied with the answer we got. I would therefore pose the question to the public: Has an agreement been made at a senior political and departmental level to downgrade Daisy Hill? Is the current crisis at Daisy Hill part of a plan to undermine our hospital, a plan that did not anticipate such fierce resistance from local people? Has a deal been done over the heads of the public to take away our life saving services?  I can say with the utmost confidence that we will try our best to get answers to these questions. But we need you the public to show your power by attending the rally on Sunday and send a defiant message to those trying to take away our life saving services that we deserve equality in access to health care."