A LOCAL health campaign group has voiced its concerns about the recent temporary suspension of Daisy Hill Hospital’s maternity services to the Southern Trust’s chief executive.
In a statement, the SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee confirmed that they attended a meeting with Steve Spoerry, at which the 24-hour diversion of the services to Craigavon Area Hospital over 19 and 20 June was top of the agenda.
At the time, the Trust said that “due to unexpected staff sickness within Obstetrics and Gynaecology services”, it was “unable to provide safe medical cover on the Daisy Hill site” over the course of the weekend in question, though subsequently “successfully secured medical cover” within 24 hours.
The committee said that they had “strongly highlighted how vital maternity services are to the whole community in Newry and Mourne, south Down and south Armagh and that everything should be done to make sure maternity services are secure now and in the future”.
“We emphasised that a fully functioning acute hospital and maternity services are vital for the safety of patients,” the statement read.
“In some situations, without Daisy Hill’s maternity unit, some mothers and babies could die for a lack of timely intervention that could not be given at Craigavon due to the extra travel time to get there.
“SOS are steadfast in our belief that the right support network should be put in place to guarantee a divert to Craigavon doesn’t happen again.
“With this in mind, the need for more investment at Daisy Hill – in infrastructure, staff recruitment and retention – was highlighted.
“The recent maternity divert has damaged community trust and confidence-building measures need put in place.”
A number of other issues – including the installation of a permanent MRI scanner at Daisy Hill, parking at the Newry hospital, cross-border healthcare, stroke services and the committee’s proposal to locate a new city health hub at the Quays complex – were also discussed at the meeting.
The SOS Daisy Hill Hospital Committee said that discussions had been “very frank, open and constructive” and thanked Mr Spoerry and his officials for their “willingness to engage in dialogue”.
