The Daisy Hill Pathfinder Group have welcomed the announcement by Health Minister Robin Swann that Daisy Hill Hospital is to be declared an Elective Surgical Centre as part of the regional review of surgical services.
The review was commissioned by the Department of Health in response to the ongoing workforce challenges around the availability of consultant surgeons and specialist theatre staff across the hospital estate in Northern Ireland.
For the past six years the Pathfinder Group have been actively engaged in trying to find solutions to the ever-worsening crisis in our health service and, in particular, to alleviating the threats to services and staffing within Daisy Hill hospital. Ever since the possibility of downgrading the Emergency Department from a 24hr facility emerged in 2016, the Pathfinder Group have been engaged on a daily basis in seeking to retain and develop services and enhance the position of the hospital as an acute health care facility at the heart of the community.
In light of the immense challenges that currently beset the health service, Pathfinder view today’s announcement as a very positive step forward in securing the future of Daisy Hill as an invaluable component in meeting the health needs of people across the North as well as Louth and Monaghan.
While workforce issues continue to be a huge problem, Pathfinder recognises that todays confirmation offers staff a sense of security in the future provision of services on site and offers a platform on which to build the capacity of Daisy Hill into the future.
Pathfinder will continue to work with our colleagues in the SHSCT, the Daisy Hill Future Group, politicians and trade unions to seek the improvement and continued development of Daisy Hill in order that our hospital is both equipped to meet the current challenges in providing for the community’s health care needs and also well positioned to address the future needs of our citizens.
ENDS
CLANRYE NEWS 