‘Daisy Hill Hospital must save lives, not pennies’ – McKevitt tells Minister

SDLP South Down MLA Karen McKevitt has said the Health Minister must enhance both the Downe and Daisy Hill Hospitals because it is clear Craigavon Area Hospital cannot cope with increased A&E intake to cover the south-eastern area.

McKevitt was speaking prior to an Assembly debate on an SDLP motion regarding the future services at both hospitals.

She said, “People in South Down and Newry and Armagh are angry because they feel decisions about their health-care are being made to save pennies, not lives.

“They are angry because they are being told to travel further for health-care treatment, to wait longer for consultations and essential treatment and to be happy about these changes.

“Craigavon Area Hospital cannot cope with demand and it is clear that the Minister now needs to develop and enhance Downe and Daisy Hill hospitals,” the MLA insisted.

“This morning I was contacted by a woman whose son was in a serious car crash in Kilcoo in October 2014. It took 50 minutes for an ambulance to arrive from Newtownabbey. His mother has recently been told her son might never walk again. That’s just one person’s harrowing story. There are many others.

“Minister Wells was mistaken last week when he said there was not a problem and the public should feel reassured even though 200 operations were postponed due to pressures on emergency departments.

McKevitt added, “Minister Wells, there is a problem – the problem was caused internally and the solution to that problem lies in your hands.”

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Posted by Newry Times News on Jan 28 2015. Filed under Community, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry