SOUTH Down MP Margaret Ritchie wants local people to detail their experiences about the Downe Hospital’s emergency department and its GP out-of-hours service.
Consultants at the hospital stop working at 10pm when the emergency department closes and is replaced by a GP-led service which operates until 8am the following morning.
GPs can refer patients to other hospitals for medical examination but this can result in lengthy waits for people to be seen by a consultant. Recently, one patient referred from the Downe to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald waited from 1am until 7.30am to be seen.
Miss Ritchie has expressed concern at the time patients referred from the Downe are waiting to be seen by doctors at other hospitals and has raised the issue with the Patient and Client Council (PCC), the body created to provide an independent voice on health and social care issues.
The MP now wants people who have experienced delays at other hospitals to contact the PCC which is currently compiling a report — due to be completed early next year — which will be used to inform health trusts in the development of A&E services.
Miss Ritchie has described the time people referred from the Downe to other hospitals have to wait to be seen as “unacceptable.”
She continued: “I have raised my concerns with the PCC which is seeking to find out what people have experienced in relation to GP out-of-hours provision, accident and emergency services and minor injuries units at all hospitals.
“Patients referred from the Downe to other hospitals who have experienced long waits to be seen by a consultant should now contact the Council.”
Miss Ritchie added: “We must continue to apply pressure if we are to sustain and develop health services within our area. I am seeking an early meeting with PCC officials to discuss the time local patients are waiting to be seen at hospitals outside the area.”
The South Eastern Trust, which is responsible for the Downe, says it faces challenges in staffing the hospital over a 24-hour period and confirmed there is no prospect of the opening hours at the emergency department being extended.