By Ryan Sands
A South Down MLA has challenged the Health Minister on the reduction of services at the Downe Hospital on St Patrick’s Day.
In the Assembly last Tuesday (24 March), local SDLP representative Colin McGrath asked Mike Nesbitt “whether, while he was enjoying the festivities in America on St Patrick’s Day, he was aware that the urgent care centre at Downe Hospital had to be downgraded for the day to a minor injuries unit”.
Responding, Mr Nesbitt said: “The member may categorise my trip as he wishes, but I met a lot of healthcare providers in Nashville, and, as we speak, they are upstairs at a follow-up meeting, so some progress has been made on cooperation on healthcare initiatives.
“I was not fully across what the member says, however. I was not fully across what was happening in real time in health and social care delivery.”
Mr McGrath replied that he appreciated that the minister had been “busy in America”.
“Lagan Valley Hospital and the Ulster Hospital were able to maintain their urgent care centres on the day, but it was the people of Downpatrick, on its busiest day of the year, who were left short at Downe Hospital,” he continued.
“If you were not aware of that and you were not aware of ambulance response times in South Down when I asked you previously, I wonder whether you are aware that, over the past five years, £1.8bn has been spent by health trusts on agency and locum staff.
“Is it the case, Minister, that your advisers are not telling you what is happening, or are you just not interested in the realities of the health service?”
Mr Nesbitt stated that he was aware of the expenditure on “agency and locum staff between the financial years 2020-21 and 2024-25”.
“We incur that expenditure to ensure that safe and effective services are sustained, so it is important that we do so,” he added. “It increases short-term capacity.
“Given the current gap between demand for care and the system’s capacity to meet that demand, it is crucial.
“Reducing agency spend is a key priority, however. We are committed to bearing down on that cost.
“It will not be possible to reduce the cost completely, because we have to maintain services.
“Yes, I am aware – I am aware that we have done good things elsewhere to reduce agency costs, and we now look at locum costs.
“We will continue, because here is certainly a starting point for making financial savings in health and social care, but there is no end point.”
Last month, the South Eastern Trust confirmed that “due to shortages of appropriate medical staff, an urgent care service at the Downe Hospital was not available on St Patrick’s Day”.
