Politicians will face Downe hustings quiz

Politicians will face Downe hustings quiz

6 April 2016

POLITICIANS are to be challenged on the Downe Hospital at a major public hustings debate in Downpatrick next week.

Health campaigners have asked the health spokesmen from each of the Province’s main political parties to attend the event in the St Patrick Centre on Tuesday, April 12.

The question and answer session is being organised by the Down Community Health Committee and will be chaired by the group’s chairman, Eamonn McGrady. Representatives from hospital campaign groups in other parts of the Province have also been invited to attend the event.

Over recent weeks, health campaigners have met with a number of political parties to discuss the future of the Downe Hospital which has lost its 24-hour emergency department and dedicated coronary care unit.

In the run-up to the last Westminster election, campaigners launched their own health manifesto for the various South Down candidates to endorse and with the Assembly election now just weeks away, the health committee is keen to ensure health remains at the forefront of the political agenda.

Campaigners say the time has come for a real debate on health with the focus on why rural communities in particular are being so severely disadvantaged and why Northern Ireland continues to go down the route of centralisation, when the opposite is happening in England.

While there are many health issues, campaigners say their focus is firmly fixed on the Downe Hospital and the reinstatement of key services which hospital administrators insisted were being removed on a temporary basis.

Mrs Ann Trainor — who is helping organise next week’s event — explained the intention is to to afford an opportunity to members of the public to hear the views of those who would lead the health service and to question them directly.

“Over the past three months, senior representatives of the TUV, DUP, Alliance, Ulster Unionist Party, SDLP and Sinn Fein have all visited the Downe Hospital to see at first hand the excellent facilities in what is the people’s hospital,” she continued.

“All of the politicians were highly impressed with what they saw and appreciated that the £65m grossly under-utilised facility has enormous potential to provide additional services locally and regionally.”

Mrs Trainor described the Downe as an “excellent hospital” with a significant range of services available and said campaigners are urging anyone who is referred for investigation or procedure in another hospital to check with their GP to see if it is available in the local hospital. 

“Where appropriate, insist on the Downe,” she declared. “We are committed to continuing the fight for our hospital. Next week’s event is about asking open and honest questions and people will be demanding open and honest answers.

“The Downe Hospital should be a valuable asset in the configuration of health service delivery in Northern Ireland. It is not being used to its full capacity and that must change,” she added.

Campaigners are encouraging people to come out in numbers next Tuesday night and while admission is free, entry is by ticket only. People wishing to attend are asked to contact (028) 4461 4340 and leave their name, address, telephone number and the number of tickets they require. The event gets underway at 7pm.