MLA calls for more money for investment in district

MLA calls for more money for investment in district

6 July 2016

CALLS have been issued for extra Stormont investment in the key areas of health, tourism and education in the area.

South Down MLA Colin McGrath raised the issues during a recent budget debate calling for additional cash to be earmarked for the Downe Hospital, local ambulance, education and tourism provision.

The MLA said the Ambulance Service in particular requires additional resources to alleviate the pressure the organisation is under in meeting response times in what is a large rural area.

Mr McGrath said schools must be “adequately resourced” to allow the education system to deliver children’s fullest potential, describing the current debacle of passing on the superannuation and pay increases to school budgets as “short-sighted” and something that will place an “additional and unjust burden” on schools.

During his Stormont address, Mr McGrath said the areas he wants provided with additional finance are relevant to all of Northern Ireland and are “the very basic things that we should have.

He continued: “They are the things that protect life, educate our children, help our elderly to feel safe and make our communities better places. In short, they are the things that we should be asking for. 

“South Down is a rural community that feels exposed and vulnerable, especially when it comes to health matters. I have been an active participant for nearly a decade in the Save the Downe Hospital campaign. In that time, we have had lifesaving and critical services downgraded or removed from our facility.

“At times, the South EasternTrust trust told us that it was down to personnel issues and that the sunnier climes of Bondi Beach were much more attractive for staff than Newcastle, something that is, I might add, without foundation. On other occasions, we were told that the cuts were financially led.”

Mr McGrath referred to the closure of the Downpatrick hospital’s dedicated coronary care unit, explaining the move was designed to generate savings of £300,000. He said he hopes the additional £200m going to health would pave the way for the unit’s reopening but has been told this won’t be the case.

Referring to the lack of appropriate ambulance cover, especially in rural areas across the constituency, the MLA described the time people have to wait for paramedics to arrive as “deplorable.” 

He declared: “We are failing our elderly population when they must lie and wait for help. A  constituent of mine had to wait for an hour-and-a-half with a broken hip for an ambulance to come. We are letting our community down when a woman in the midst of a severe mental health episode could not be treated by a paramedic and had to wait two hours for a doctor to come out to help her. We are letting people down. In another case, a young lad who had broken his leg had to wait two-and-a-half hours for an ambulance to come and provide basic care. 

“The Ambulance Service is staffed by some of the most competent life-saving individuals in our health system, but they are being pushed to their limits. They miss meal breaks and stay late after work. That is unfair.”

Mr McGrath said the Ambulance Service must be adequately resourced with “not just a few quid” but major financing to allow the organisation to respond to the rural population in particular. 

Turing to education provision, the MLA said a major cash injection is required as “many schools are at breaking point.” He said additional money is needed to allow the education system to deliver children’s fullest potential.