McNulty slams Trust for ‘disingenuous doublespeak’ on Daisy Hill Hospital | News in Newry

SDLP Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has hit out at what he describes as the ‘appalling lack of honesty’ from the Southern Trust on the future of emergency surgical services at Daisy Hill Hospital.

The Southern Trust announced a ‘temporary’ withdrawal of emergency surgery in January 2022, with a public consultation to follow.

The Trust then cancelled the public consultation and last week announced that the withdrawal of emergency surgery is permanent.

Speaking after the announcement, Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty says, “I find the level of dishonesty and doublespeak coming from the Trust to be completely outrageous.

“It’s not just that they’ve broken their word; it’s that they attempted to discredit those of us who spoke up against them when we could see what they were doing.

“The Trust has repeatedly told us that they simply cannot find general surgeons to work in Daisy Hill – but the last time they recruited for the positions was 4 years ago.

“The Trust has said that they can’t get general surgeons to work in Daisy Hill, yet when I challenged the Department on the nature of contracts for surgeons, they confirmed that all surgeons in the Southern Trust can be required to work on either of the two hospital sites.

“Why then have the Trust allowed the service to collapse at Daisy Hill rather than redeploying a small number of surgeons from Craigavon?

“We have also been told that general surgery is ‘a thing of the past’ and that surgeons aren’t trained that way anymore.

“But when I challenged the Trust on why there has been a 34% increase in the number of general surgeons in the NHS system in England, they had nothing to say.

“We all know that the health service is under extraordinary pressure.

“But it can never be the case that the solution to those challenges is to pull the shutter down on services and push even more people into already overcrowded hospitals.

“I could understand if the Trust had moved mountains to try and secure Daisy Hill.

“I could understand if they had thrown absolutely everything at shoring up services and protecting our local hospital.

“But far from making an effort, they have offered excuse after excuse, none of which holds up to scrutiny.

“This is downgrade by stealth, and the people of Newry, South Armagh, and South Down have a decision to make.

“Are we going to let them tear down Daisy Hill brick by brick, or are we going to take a stand?

“It’s crucial that we remind ourselves that there is currently no Health Minister in post in the North.

“I find it absolutely astonishing that unelected and unaccountable Trust officials think that they have the right to make major decisions on health which will have long-term and significant impacts on our communities.

“My position on this is very simple: the actions of the Trust are dishonest, and they are damaging to our community.

“I will be opposing their assault on Daisy Hill every step of the way, and I am asking everyone in Newry, South Armagh, and South Down to join me in fighting this.”

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Posted by NewryTimes News on Feb 1 2023. Filed under Community, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry