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Justin McNulty MLA has raised fresh concerns over the long-delayed Community Treatment Centre promised for Abbey Way in Newry over a decade ago.
Mr McNulty tabled a formal Assembly question on the matter to Health Minister Mike Nesbitt on 29 January and despite a commitment to answer the query by 13 February, it still hasn't been addressed. His message was "To ask the Minister of Health for an update on the three Community Treatment Centres in Lisburn, Banbridge, and Newry, as proposed in 2013"
Back in 2013, then Health Minister Edwin Poots announced plans for a £40m Community Treatment Centre in Newry, alongside similar facilities in Banbridge and Lisburn. The Newry centre was intended to provide GP, dentistry, mental health, speech and language services, and other healthcare services, with an opening date set for 2016. Ten years on from that deadline, the centre remains unbuilt with no visible sign of progress.
In March 2023 the Southern Trust announced that it had received £4.5 million funding from the Department of Health to purchase the site at Abbey Way and carry out associated design to progress the Newry Community Treatment and Care Centre scheme.
In a media release at the time the Trust stated “The new centre will bring together a wide range of services which are currently delivered by around 600 staff across 13 sites, into much more modern and suitable accommodation.
“Offering a range of planned outpatient appointments, diagnostics and specialist clinics, the proposed community treatment and care centre underpins our future vision for Newry and Mourne, complementing the high quality acute care provided from Daisy Hill Hospital and improving services for the local population.” Despite this blaze of positivity three years later no progress has been announced.
The contrast with the other two planned facilities is stark. The health hubs in Lisburn and Banbridge were completed long ago and are now operational, leaving Newry still waiting for a facility that was announced at the same time..
McNulty said: "The construction of the Newry Community Treatment Centre is long overdue. The Minister of Health failing to answer my question demonstrates that actually building the Newry Centre is not a priority for the Department. The people of Newry, South Armagh, and South Down deserve equality in access to healthcare services and should not be left behind everywhere else in the North. I call on the Department to take action and commit to following through on this vital project."
