Individual Post

POSTED By : DESTINATION NEWRY
Post Date : 30 Jun 2017 08:55 AM
Mulgrew & Brady Welcome Trust Initiative in Daisy Hill Pathfinder Project

Sinn Féin Councillor and Newry, Mourne & Down Council Chairperson Roisin Mulgrew and Mickey Brady MP have welcomed the approval of the ‘Daisy Hill Emergency Department Pathfinder Project’ at Tuesday’s meeting of the Southern Health & Social Care Trust.

The Pathfinder Project, expected to last 20 weeks, is a consultation and engagement process with medical professionals, stakeholders and the local community in the Newry & Mourne area. Its purpose is to identify a long term solution to dangerously low staffing levels and potential closure of Daisy Hill Emergency Department.
Speaking following the meeting of the Trust, Mulgrew welcomed the initiative: 
 
“We welcome the initiative taken by the Trust to take a comprehensive and holistic approach to resolving the deep uncertainty around the future of Daisy Hill Emergency Department.
“This move will alleviate some of the concerns held in the local community about the future of their local hospital and its emergency services.
“Consultation as part of this project must be extensive and involve huge sections of our community, from people in all walks of life. There is a robust strength of feeling on the ground that must be made clear to the Trust." 
Cllr Mulgrew also made clear that her priority campaign as Council Chairperson in the coming year would focus on bringing the community together to speak cohesively on their concerns regarding the future of Daisy Hill:
 
“Since my election as Chairperson of Council on 1st June, I have contacted local groups and stakeholders in an effort to bring them together in a forum that will share concerns and ideas surrounding Daisy Hill Emergency Department. I will then make these concerns known to the Trust." 
Mickey Brady, recently re-elected MP for Newry & Armagh, was present at the meeting of the Trust and took the opportunity to voice support for the project, while urging the Trust to go further:
“This is an opportunity for the Trust not only to maintain services at Daisy Hill, but also expand and enhance those available to the local community.
“Daisy Hill Hospital has for some time now suffered dangerously low consultancy staffing levels, has relieved too heavily on locums, and training supervision has been inadequate. This will have a knock on effect to other sections of the hospital as resources are increasingly strained.
“This Pathfinder Project is an opportunity for the Trust to embrace a clean slate and provide the necessary resources to a hospital and Emergency Department that is increasingly unfit for purpose.”