Dear Mr. Poots, We demand our A&E

Dear Mr. Poots, We demand our A&E

26 February 2014

CHILDREN at a local primary school are taking the campaign for a seven day emergency department service at the Downe Hospital to the door of Health Minister Edwin Poots.

Primary six and seven pupils at St. Nicholas’ Primary in Ardglass have used a creative writing class to pen their views on the closure of early evening and weekend A&E services.

The pupils sent their letters off yesterday and have appealed to Mr. Poots to take on board their views, asking how he would like to travel from Ardglass to Belfast for emergency treatment.

School vice-principal, Paul Gilchrist, explained pupils had been talking about the situation at the Downe Hospital and how it affects not only them, but their families and wider rural community.

“The pupils have made it clear that the closure of the hospital’s emergency department is wrong at any time, with many sharing personal experiences of the local A&E service,” he added.

P6 pupil Aime Crumley, who lives at Ballyhossett, describes her “disgust” at the early evening and weekend closure of the Downe’s emergency department in her letter.

“Hundreds of people’s lives have been put at risk and I am worried that if something happens to my friends or family that they won’t get help in time. If my granda has another stroke an ambulance could take an hour to get to him; every second counts to save his life. An ambulance sent from Belfast to him could take even longer or get lost on our narrow roads,” she said.

“Most children have accidents outside school hours and mainly at the weekends, which is the hospital’s busiest time. How is the Royal Victoria supposed to cope with more patients from our area as well as Belfast? It’s not fair for patients or staff to have a hospital so busy that it can’t help everybody.”

Aime’s letter adds: “I believe closing the Downe’s A&E is a disaster. There has already been a state of emergency at the Royal and the reports I heard on the news shocked me. I hope no one I know is left lying on a trolley for hours on end before they get help. I don’t feel safe anymore the way things are. Please reopen the A&E unit before problems get worse.”

Eleven year-old Erin O’Shea points out to Mr. Poots that the majority of accidents involving children happen at weekends when they are not at school.

“If a child on a pair of roller blades falls and breaks their arm, would they have to go to hospitals in Belfast or Newry? You need to keep the emergency department at the Downe open for longer or put people’s lives at risk as they have to travel to these other hospitals,” said Erin. “The Downe’s A&E must be kept open for longer.”

Ten year-old Christopher Walsh questioned the logic of people having to drive a minimum of 45 minutes from parts of the district to hospitals in Belfast.

“The Downe is only 10 minutes away from Ardglass and can provide emergency services. People are dying because hospitals are busy and staff are under extreme pressure. Staff need to be found to make the situation better and more people should study to become a doctor.

His letter adds: “I hope you reopen the emergency department at weekends. If you don’t, I hope you do not get sick while visiting our area over the weekend.”

Rachel Briggs asks Mr. Poots why there are four hospitals serving the Belfast area and only one covering a large rural like Down District. She also refers to the district’s roads infrastructure, suggesting ambulance drivers may not know their way around or where people live.

Her letter to the Minister adds: “How would you feel if there was no hospital in your area? A lot of people could lose their lives.”

Dylan Addis bluntly tells Mr. Poots he does not agree with the decision to reduce emergency provision at the Downe Hospital at the weekend, suggesting “it’s a bit stupid” to do this given most accidents happen at this time.

The P7 pupil highlighted the long travel times between the area and hospitals in Belfast, asking Mr Poots to consider that rushing a sick child to the city could also result in an accident.

Michael Walker’s message to the Health Minister is succinct: “Keep the emergency department open at weekends for all the people in our area.”

The P7 pupil said everyone he knows is of the opinion that closing such a vital facility on Saturdays and Sundays is a “bad idea” as more accidents happen over the weekend.