Newry politicial representatives welcome Daisy Hill Hospital news
Local political representatives have welcomed the news that Daisy Hill Hospital’s Emergency Department is to reopen at the end of September on a 24/7 basis with full trauma cover.
Welcoming the news, Newry Alliance representative Jackie Coade stated, “It is great to see Daisy Hill Emergency Department reopening at the end of September.
“This is a vital service for the people of Newry and surrounding areas.
“Daisy Hill A&E is a vital part of our community and is key to providing life-saving treatment to the local area.
“As we have seen in recent weeks Craigavon A&E cannot take the large influx of patients with Daisy Hill Emergency Department closed.
“We have seen the videos of large queues of Ambulances outside Craigavon A&E and the stories of nurses being run off their feet and queues of patients in the corridors waiting for beds.
This has at the very least shown the importance of Daisy Hill as an Emergency centre of excellence,” she insisted.
“Already I have had members of the pubic and Ambulance Service contact me telling me of their delight that Daisy Hill A&E will relieve some pressure on an already highly pressurised system at Craigavon,” Coade added.
Article continues below
Newry MP Mickey Brady also welcomed the news and ccommended the work of the Daisy Hill Pathfinder for the crucial role they played in making this happen.
The Sinn Fein MP said, “The Pathfinder group, over the last three years, have been working extremely hard to ensure the retention of Daisy Hill ED and this work continued during COVID-19.
“I and my Sinn Féin colleagues met with [Southern] Trust CEO Shane Devlin and senior management on numerous occasions over the last 5 months to also ensure that any closure of Daisy Hill Hospital’s Emergency Department was temporary, and at every stage, we were assured it would be reopening in September.”
The Sinn Féin representative continued, “This is not only fantastic news for the people of Newry and surrounding areas, but also for those staff who literally overnight were redeployed to Craigavon.
“It is important that we recognise and acknowledge the sacrifices they too have made to keep our citizens safe during these difficult times.
Brady added, “We will continue to liaise with the Trust and the Health Minister in the coming weeks to also ensure the reopening of all services for Daisy Hill hospital.”
Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=72587