Young couple delay having families because of Trust decision

DURING the full meeting of the Southern Trust Board which saw the decision being taken to relocate inpatient maternity services from Daisy Hill Hospital Francis Gallagher and Eddie Curtis were afforded speaking rights.

Both Mr Gallagher and Mr Curtis, who are proud members of the SOS Daisy Hill group, spoke their piece regarding why they considered the decision taken on the part of the Trust to relocate inpatient maternity services as regrettable.

According to Eddie such is the concern in the community regarding the decision taken on the part of the Trust that young couples from the South Down area have approached him saying that they are delaying starting a family.

“I am a member of SOS Daisy Hill Committee and young families have said to me we are going to delay having a family because of the lack of maternity services at Daisy Hill Hospital." said Mr Curtis.

“We Have known for many years that maternity services have been under pressure."

“Can someone please explain to me how Craigavon which is 20 minutes from the Royal can centralise maternity services.?

“People from South Down and South Armagh are going to have to travel to it?

Iterating his associates sentiment Francis Gallagher used the metaphor of a powder keg that had just ben light to describe the Trust's decision.

"What has happened is speaking metaphorically all of those parties have light a slow burning fuse to a powder keg.

“What that powder keg is that patients and mothers will probably opt for the A1 motorway if there is no other help available to go up to the Belfast Hospital. Those in Castlewellan and Newcastle will opt to go to the Ulster Hospital rather than Daisy Hill.

"There will also be a lot of expectant mothers who will try and get down the road to Craigavon. How is this going to be a powder Keg, it means that these hospitals will implode because it will not be able to cope. This is the situation we are dealing with.

“There has been a failure of governance right across the board, political leadership, departmental leadership and Trust leadership.

“Who is taking responsibility for this? I have not yet seen anyone put their hands up and say we are responsible and we are going to take responsibility for this.

"The challenge is how do you move forward from this. Where is the mechanism for these people to get accountability, it is not there.

The whole system of health care governance and the administration at Stormont needs to look at how it is going to make themselves accountable to the public for all those people who walked up to Daisy Hill on Sunday October 25.

"What is the action plan to recruit?

“We know that India, Pakistan and Egypt are training obstetricians to UK standards so we want to see what is the Trusts specific goal orientated timescale action plan to go out to these countries to bring more obstetricians back to this area so that Daisy Hill maternity service will be reinstated? “