Meeting sought with new health minister

Meeting sought with new health minister

29 January 2020

HOSPITAL campaigners are seeking an early meeting with new Stormont health minister Robin Swann.

The meeting with the new man at the helm of the Department of Health is one of a number  campaigners are seeking in the near future, with invitations for talks also to be extended to senior officials from the South Eastern Trust and the Ambulance Service.

Last week’s meeting of the Down Community Health Committee was the first to be held since the restoration of the Stormont Executive and the publication of the ‘New Decade New Approach’ document which outlines the key priorities moving forward.

Chief among these is health and social services, with campaigners keen to see a commitment to equality of access to healthcare services for those who live in rural communities in particular.

Campaigners say they are pleased that health and social care will continue to be a priority within the programme for government and that there will be a greater focus on mental health and well-being which has not been the case in the past.

At last week’s meeting, it was suggested that the New Decade New Approach document raises what have been described as “fundamental challenges” for politicians in terms of their capacity to deliver.

Campaigners say that there is a priority for all those who can influence the decision makers in Stormont to deliver for the local community and that there is nothing more important than health care.

In addition, campaigners believe that the New Decade New Approach document presents the local community with both opportunities and challenges and that there could potentially be threats to health services.

They say any proposed changes to services which will not improve upon what is already in place will be vigorously resisted.

Community health committee chairman, Mr Eamonn McGrady, said campaigners were not resisting change and recognised that modernisation was important, including new technologies and services. 

He also believes that there are opportunities for local services moving forward.

Recently published figures have revealed that the number of acute beds across Northern Ireland have fallen dramatically over the past seven years and more, with calls for more bed provision in the Downe Hospital.

Campaigners say that the reduction in bed numbers provides further evidence of what is already obvious to many that less beds is leading to longer patient waiting times across the health service.

Confirming that campaigners are seeking a meeting with the new man in charge of the Stormont health portfolio, Mr McGrady said that while Mr Swann will receive many similar requests, local campaigners are keen to speak with him.

He said that while there will inevitably be much debate about hospital provision moving forward, there is a recognition that there is a duplication of services in some areas.

He said the idea that people may have to travel a little further to a specialist unit to get whatever procedure they require is something that they will live with and understand.

Mr McGrady continued: “The reality is that the Downe has already suffered all the pain. It has been downgraded to a Type II emergency unit which we believe is not sufficient. The Downe was only one of two hospitals in the past 20 years which had had its needs fully assessed before it was built.

“There is a clearly established case for a 24-hour emergency service in Downpatrick operating seven days a week and nothing has happened at the Department of Health or anywhere else to suggest otherwise. Service changes were made in the past due to staffing issues, nothing else.

Mr McGrady also revealed that changes are planned at the Downe with surveyors visiting the hospital recently to examine where the proposed new MRI scanner will be located. 

He said the provision of the scanner will result in an extension being built and also open the door to allow the hospital to do so much more in terms of diagnostics and other opportunities,

Campaigners also insisted at last week’s meeting that space is needed to reopen 15 beds closed in the same week of the new Downe’s official opening in 2009, highlighting the need for everyone — including politicians and Newry, Mourne and Down Council — to work together on this particular issue and that it was time for the “injustices of the past” in terms of local health care provision to be addressed.

Mrs Anne Trainor highlighted the lack of investment in local hospital services in the past and said it was time that the Downe Hospital was firmly on the “lips of the decision makers” and that the local area got its fair share of funding.

Looking to the future, she said if the Downe does become a centre of excellence for the elderly, this will pave the way for other new services to add to those already in place.

She also backed calls for more beds to be provided in the Downpatrick hospital and is keen to see the local council taking an active role on health and working alongside campaigners.

“Health is the single most important issue and we have been hammering home this message for years,” she declared. 

“Newry, Mourne and Down Council needs to play a serious role in the delivery of healthcare. The former Down Council put its hands in its pocket to help the hospital campaign but its successor has been lacking in this regard.”

Mrs Trainor added: “We want a fully functioning hospital that provides this community with the services it needs.  We already have an excellent hospital and fantastic staff, but the community deserves what everyone else has. 

“We also need to to engage with local medical providers who are the experts. They have the knowledge and the experience and we have the voice and we should work together for the common good.”